Descent of Mana: The Lost Swords
by Tiamat42
Summary: A young woman wakes up in the woods with two empty sword sheaths, and only a vague feeling that her name might be Ren. LoM. Ch 29: Involving a trip out of the Underworld. Twenty lucre surcharge per piece of emotional baggage brought along.
1. Collecting Names

* * *

1 - Collecting Names

* * *

_It is time…_

_I wish to see you again…_

_Return to me, return me._

_Call to me and I will come._

_The heart's true power will bring me to you._

_I am love._

_Remember me._

_Need me._

_Awaken me…_

"Hey! Wake up!" The high-pitched voice of a girl broke into what must have been a dream. Like a dream, it faded and disappeared on waking, for if dreams stayed forever, there would never be room for reality. So it must have been a dream but…if that was the dream, where was the reality?

The young woman sat up in the woods. The woods, then, must be reality, because they were there and not fading away. Also, there was a girl, not quite a child but not yet an adult, who must also be real. She had to be real because she was solid, which was evident by the way she was pulling on one's arm. Also, talking.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked again.

"I…" Talking, apparently, went both ways. "I…think so. No, not really. Maybe." What to talk about next? 'Where am I' might be appropriate, or 'who are you' or better yet 'who am I', but that might be a silly question to ask of a random person in the woods. Still, one never knows, so… "Who am I?"

The girl sat back. "You don't know?"

Ah, it was a silly question after all. "Should I? That is, if I wasn't me, would I know me? Er…" It's hard to make sense with your mind a complete blank, she figured out. "Do you know me, is what I mean."

The girl shook her head rapidly. "No. I was just taking a walk when I saw you lying there. I thought you might be lost, or hurt…maybe you hit your head?"

The woman reached up and felt her head, gingerly. There were sticks in it. No, in her hair. Not sticks as in leftover bits from sleeping in the woods, but smooth ones. Decorations. Unbroken decorations, and no bumps. "I don't think so. I just can't remember anything."

"Nothing?"

"Well, I'm talking to you, aren't I? So I guess I remember how to speak, which makes things easier." She thought for a minute. "Something…on the tip of my tongue. Not breakfast." She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to collect enough thoughts together to say something that wasn't inane. "Ren," she said finally. "It was right there."

"Ren? Is that a name?"

"Um…"

"Your name?" The girl urged.

"Good as any, I suspect." Ren stood up, carefully. Everything seemed to work properly. Arms, legs, neck, waist, check…hmm? She ran her fingers along the belt around her waist. "I'm wearing two sword sheaths," she told the girl, who was looking solemnly up at her. "Empty ones." She frowned at the things, dangling behind her. "I must have been something of an idiot before I ended up here."

"Or maybe you just dropped them somewhere? I've got it! Maybe you were fighting something that made you lose your memory?"

Ren looked around. The forest floor was undisturbed, and there were no signs of swords anywhere. "I think my idea might be closer to the mark, no offense. I'm feeling very stupid right now."

The girl stood up, brushing off her dress, then began to hover slightly, buzzing her insect like wings. "I think you should come back to town with me, you can't just wander around here with no memory."

"And no weapons." Ren frowned at the general area. Something about swords was bothering her, like it was very important. She could remember the feel of the hilts in her hand, this one _that_ way, the other _this_ way, snap, sheathe…but the scabbards remained empty.

"What are you doing? Come on, come with me. My parents will take care of you…"

"I think I should look around a bit, for my swords…" Ren started to pace in an ever-widening circle.

"Oh for pity's sake…" The girl sighed. "We can find them later. You need help, and what are we going to fight between here and Domina?"

"It's important!" Ren snapped, spinning around. A little too fast; her foot caught on a stone she'd unearthed with all the pacing, and sent her sprawling back into the realm of dreams.

* * *

She woke again to a brightly lit room with pink curtains and a teapot. A big teapot. Ren closed her eyes again. Obviously, she had brought the dreams with her this time, though why she would dream about teapots she didn't know. Of course, she didn't know why she would dream about anything _else_ either. She opened her eyes again.

"'ello," said the teapot. Ren sat up with a rush and threw her pillow at it, then scrambled out of the bed and ran for the door. Unfortunately, the door opened onto some stairs, which she hit at a bad angle and half slid down, ending up clinging to the railing at the bottom.

"There's a talking _teapot_ up there!" she exclaimed to three startled pairs of eyes.

"Um. Yes," the girl from earlier said, then turned to the other two, probably her parents. "See? I told you she was crazy."

"Rachel!" the mother whispered loudly. "Be nice." Then she turned to Ren and helped her disentangle herself from the stairs. "I'm Jennifer," she explained, escorting the younger woman to a chair with a gentle flap of her wings. "That's my husband Mark, and you met my daughter, Rachel. The teapot belongs to us, and she's quite harmless. Carried you back from the woods, in fact, after Rachel came tearing in here looking for help."

"Oh." Ren looked at her hands for a moment. "I threw a pillow at it. Her. I suppose I should apologize."

"I'm sure she'll understand," Mark said with a grin. "We're more concerned with _you_ really. Rachel said you seemed to be amne…"

"A little confused," Jennifer interrupted, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"A little?" Ren thought about it, but nothing came to mind. "Well, when you can't remember anything at all, there's not much to be confused about, really. Isn't that strange." She continued to look at her lap. It was covered in a pink nightdress. "Er. What happened to my clothes?"

"Teapo washed them, they're in the cupboard upstairs."

"Oh…I'll just go…change then, this is a little…"

"Pink?" asked Rachel sadly. "I know."

* * *

After apologizing to the teapot and sending it out of the room, and feeling very silly about it, Ren took her time changing. It gave her a spot to think. Not that there was much to think about. She rummaged in the bottom of the cupboards and recovered the empty sword scabbards and her hair-sticks, then sat on the bed with them. The sticks were kind of cute, they had patterns on them in red. Each one was slightly different, like they might have been runes or words in another language. If only she knew what language. Ignoring the sticks again, she focused on the scabbards. They were simply but oddly shaped, one with white leather and the other dark green, with various designs tooled into them and painted in bright colors.

"Tacky," she muttered, and reached out to trace one of the designs with a finger, only to find her hands occupied by fixing the sticks into her hair. She froze, then forced herself to relax and finish the job. Okay, one more thing remembered, however useless it might be. She had kind of wondered how those things stayed up.

Standing up, she started to buckle on the sword-belt automatically. Then she realized how ridiculous that would be, and tore it off again. Tossing it on the bed, she glared at the leather. "This is all your fault, I'm sure. Carrying weapons around probably means I was involved with something strange and violent. Otherwise, how would I end up like this?" The scabbards refused to answer. "Fine, be that way." She turned away and headed for the door.

_Need me!_

_Awaken me!_

_I am love._

The voice exploded so loudly in the empty blackness of her head that it practically echoed. Ren stumbled and nearly fell down the stairs again. She pulled herself away from the top step and crawled back to the bed, where she clung to the sheets and stared at the discarded belt. "Tell me," she said, almost conversationally. "That you didn't just speak to me after all."

It remained silent. Ren sighed in relief and reached up to wipe tears from her eyes. Tears? She paused. The voice had been so strong, and yet so sad. _Was I…in love with someone?_ So familiar, and yet…and yet, it was fading already. She grasped at it like a leaf floating up in the wind, and then it was gone. Mostly.

Ren clambered to her feet again and made it all the way down the stairs in one piece. "Much better," she said to the room's occupants.

Jennifer looked up from her conversation with the teapot. She peered closely at Ren's face. "Have you been crying? Heavens, come over here, sit down!" Ren found herself led to a chair and nearly shoved into it. "There, there, it will be okay, this must be so hard for you!"

"Actually, I'm fine, I'm okay, really…" Ren tried to fend off the over-zealous butterfly woman.

Jennifer finally took the hint and stepped back. "We were discussing things while you were sleeping, and now too, of course. We thought…well… that you should stay here for a while."

"Oh?" Ren grinned in a slightly worried manner. She hadn't actually thought about where she would go or stay.

"Yes…Mark scouted out the woods where Rachel found you, but couldn't find any sign of tracks or luggage, or anything that would give us a hint as to where you came from. I asked around town as well, but no one was expecting visitors or relatives…" She glanced at her husband for confirmation, and he nodded.

"So we thought… you could stay with us," Mark continued. "You could help Rachel out in the restaurant and such," he added, probably seeing the look on Ren's face. "…so that you don't have to feel like a complete burden."

Ren tried to smile. "That's very nice of you but…I don't even know you, I couldn't…"

"You don't know _anyone_," Rachel put in. "So why does it make a difference if you stay here or anywhere else?"

"Rachel!" Jennifer looked shocked, but Ren started to laugh.

"She has a point. I... would love to stay here. Just until I remember something useful, that is."

"That's settled then!" Jennifer clapped her hands together. "Oh it will be good to have someone around to play with Rachel, I've been kind of worried about her not hanging around anyone of her age group."

"Mother!" Rachel glared at her parent. "I don't need someone to 'play' with! And she's not my age group!" She waved a hand at Ren, who tried to shrink into the chair.

"Oh, I don't know, I might be…"

"Don't be silly!" Rachel snapped. "You're _way_ older than me."

Ren put on an irritated look. "Well, thanks a million, I'm sure. Feel free to call me grandma or something."

* * *

The next day, Ren and Rachel left the house early; Rachel to the restaurant and Ren to check out the town.

"The more things you see, the more chance something will jog your memory," Mark had said.

"But not too much!" Jennifer had added hastily. "You're still unwell, you should take it easy."

"She really didn't need to hug me," Ren said as she finally closed the front gate between her and the house. "I think I'm a bit old for that, no matter how you look at it. Especially since I hardly know her! I felt extremely silly."

"That's my mother," Rachel said with a flutter of wings and a sigh. "She's got a horrible lost-kitten syndrome. She's latched on to you now, and there'll be no stopping her until you get your memory back."

"I'd better go get it back quickly then!"

Rachel giggled. "Where are you thinking of going first?"

"Oh, I thought…" Ren fidgeted sheepishly. "A blacksmith."

"A blacksmith?" Rachel caught sight of the sword-belt draped over Ren's arm. "Are you still harping on weapons?"

"I'm not _harping_ on them, I'd just feel less ridiculous if there was something _in _these." She rattled the scabbards at the younger girl.

"Oh _fine_. I was hoping you'd say you didn't know where to go and I could make you help me do dishes or something."

"I'll come back later and help." Ren looked apprehensively at the path to the market. "Provided I don't get lost."

"Oh come on, Domina's not _big_ enough to get lost in. Here, I'll give you directions if you really think you need them…"

* * *

The blacksmith ran his hands over the scabbards, one at a time. "These are odd shapes, I don't know if anything I have will fit them. I'd have to make something…"

Ren's face fell. "I don't have much money…well, I don't have any money really. I thought, if I had weapons, I could go out and do something that would make money."

The blacksmith raised an eyebrow. "Like what, rob a caravan?"

"No no no, like…I don't know. Something in my head equates weapons with money. That's all."

"Yes, weapons _cost_ money…that would be it." He paused, then looked at her more closely. "You must be the new girl, the one Mark and Jennifer picked up."

"Er. That's me, I guess. My name is Ren. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

Ren hung her head. "Yeah."

"Don't look like that, it's unfair." The blacksmith sighed. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you what. I have, in the back room, some swords and things that I've put aside as not being good enough to sell. They're no works of art, but they are usable, if you're not too picky…"

Ren brightened. "Picky? Nah, I don't know enough to be picky."

"Then what are you going to do with…nevermind. If I put some pieces of leather inside the scabbards here, and here, and maybe here…you should be able to sheathe them without too much rattling around, and a quick strap right here will keep them from falling out."

"You would do that for me?"

He shrugged. "Hmm. Well, Mark and Jennifer are nice people and I've known them for ages. It would be more of a favor to them than anything. And you can pay me back when you…do whatever it is you were going to do to make money."

"Thank you! Thank you so much, I feel like I'm missing an _arm_ or something. Can I take them now?"

"Now, slow down. I need to do the work on the scabbards first, then I'll take a look in the back room and see what fits. I can't rightly put aside paying customers' work for that either. So why don't you come back tomorrow and I'll see if I can have it done by then."

"Okay." Ren tried not to feel disappointed. It wouldn't be very polite of her. "I'll leave the scabbards here then…" She stepped back from the counter and waited a minute.

"Is there something else?" the blacksmith asked.

Well, the scabbards didn't seem to be about to talk her into staying or anything this time, so Ren shook her head quickly and ran out the door.

"Phew," she said to the street. It didn't respond either.

* * *

Ren made her way slowly back through town. Very slowly. She wandered around the market, looking at the things she had no money to consider spending on. She saw a woman with a lot of fruit on her head, a kid who was also an onion, or something, and a monkey juggling. Domina, she decided, was a very strange town. Then again, maybe everywhere else was the same and she just couldn't remember it. Maybe she had a juggling monkey for a _best friend_ back wherever she'd come from. Maybe her aunt was a teapot. One never knew.

Stopping in a small park on the side of the path, she stood staring up at a statue of the mana goddess in the middle of a fountain. There was water springing from the pool, and some of it sprayed on the statue's face, making it look like she was crying. Ren felt a chill run down her spine. She shuddered, and wondered why. Suddenly she was gripped by a desperate desire to see a familiar face, any face, anyone she knew.

Since her list in that category was pretty limited right now, it gave her only two places to go. Mark and Jennifer's house was right out, since that butterfly woman would probably hug her and put her to bed with a glass of milk like a child. That left the restaurant. Ren spun away from the fountain and walked quickly back down the path.

Reaching the restaurant didn't take long, but by the time she got there the nervous feeling had faded. She was, however, hungry, which was an even better reason to be at a restaurant. Opening the door, she stepped inside. The place was almost deserted, it being past lunch time and before dinner. Almost deserted.

In the corner were two people, a tallish man in a sand-colored cape, and Rachel, who was cowering back against the wall.

"They said you would know!" the man was saying, a little too loudly to be mere friendly conversation. Rachel shook her head mutely. Something clicked in Ren's brain. She might be confused in general, but she wasn't stupid enough not to figure out that this wasn't right.

"Hey! Who do you think you are?" she shouted, running quickly across the room.

The man spun around, startled, reaching immediately for his sword. He had it in hand and pointed at Ren before he had even finished turning. Then he hesitated.

Ren grabbed the barstool next to her, swung it up, caught the sword between the rungs and _twisted_, wrenching the blade from its wielder's grip and flinging both chair and captive weapon across the room. They struck a table and separated with a clatter.

The unknown man stared after them. So did Ren. Then she realized it would be completely anti-climactic to admit she hadn't quite meant to do that, and stepped between the man and his fallen blade instead. "I asked you a question!"

"Nothing, it's nothing," Rachel murmured, sliding around the man and hurrying to Ren's side. "He was just asking me for directions."

"It didn't sound like he was just asking. More like demanding." She kept her eyes on the guy, who was slowly making his way around towards his sword. Ren stayed between him and Rachel, but stepped back, allowing him to retrieve his weapon.

"It was a mistake," he said, finally, picking up the sword and sheathing it silently. "I thought she knew someone, but apparently I was mistaken." He looked carefully at Rachel, but she disappeared behind Ren and didn't say anything else.

"Yes, I think you were." Ren was surprised at how cold her voice sounded. "So why don't you take it somewhere else?"

His eyes narrowed, and Ren wondered briefly what she would do if he decided to draw his sword again or something. Then he seemed to catch himself, and strode out the door instead. Ren let her breath out slowly.

"Phew," she said. "You get guys like that in here a lot?"

"No," said Rachel from behind her. "They're usually uglier."

Ren turned around, exasperated. "What does that have to do with it?"

"Nothing. He was scary anyway, wasn't he?"

"I guess so." Ren shrugged.

"You guess so? Well, not to _you_ I guess. That was so cool, with the chair and everything!" Rachel seemed to have recovered her voice quickly. "How did you do it?"

"By um, not thinking about it. I think."

"Oh." Rachel fluttered over and picked up the fallen chair, carrying it back to the bar. "Thank you, by the way!" she said, over her shoulder.

"No problem. Just wait until the blacksmith gives me the swords he promised."

Rachel pondered this for a moment. "What if you're only good with barstools?" she asked.

"Then I'll have wasted a lot of charm on that blacksmith, I suppose." Ren grinned, though she hadn't been trying to charm the blacksmith, not deliberately. Looking back, though, she felt like she had been acting very silly. Something in her head felt darker now, like a black silk sheet between her and the sun, ever since she'd picked up that stool. She shook her head back and forth, trying to clear it. "I think…I need some air," she explained to Rachel's worried expression. "I'll be right back…"

Ren stumbled outside and took a few deep breaths. This cleared up the fog in her head a bit, along with the bright afternoon sun making everything more cheerful.

"Hey." The voice seemed to drop the temperature in the surrounding area a couple of degrees, negating the effects of the fresh air neatly. Ren looked up the street. The sandy-caped man was leaning against a lamppost a few paces away.

"Yes? Something else you want?" she asked. "I hope you're not going to pick a fight, because I'm kind of short on weapons at the moment."

"Somehow, I don't think that would last long. Not with such a handy collection of flower pots and fence boards just lying around." He shoved off the lamppost and stood up straighter. "Who are you, really?"

Ren pondered this. "Ren. I think."

"You think?"

"That's the gist of it, yes."

He frowned at the street for a moment. "I see. So it was you they were talking about."

"What was me? Who was talking?" Ren wondered briefly if she would have to spend the rest of her life asking questions like that every third sentence.

"No one in particular. I just heard some people in the market saying there was a new girl in town, with memory problems. I just thought…"

Ren waited a bit, but nothing else seemed forthcoming. "You thought?"

"Nothing." The man turned and started to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" Ren broke into a sprint and got ahead of him, blocking his path. "Are you…looking for someone? With memory problems?"

"Not you." He tried to step around her, but she stepped too. "Excuse me." He tried a couple more times, but Ren remained persistent. "You know, it's not really any of your business."

"It is! You were threatening my friend about it, which makes it my business! You heard…hey hold it would you? You heard from the people in the market that there was a girl with memory problems around here, and they said Rachel would know. Then for some reason…just stay put already!...you thought threatening a little girl would be a good way to get a straight answer... stand still, this is completely undignified!"

The man sighed and stopped trying to dodge around her. "All right, all right. Would it get you out of my way if I go back and apologize?"

"No. I don't want you to go near Rachel again."

He stared at her. "It…wasn't like that. Anyway, I won't. It doesn't matter. Would you move now?"

Ren ignored him. "Why don't you tell _me_ what the problem is? I can help better, I'm sure."

"I thought you were having memory problems. How is that going to make you more helpful?"

"I…" Ren found herself at a loss. "I don't know. But, the more people you talk to, the more chance of finding a clue, right?"

The man frowned at the street. "You might have a point. I guess. I'm looking for someone. A friend. She's about…that other girl's height. Maybe a little taller."

Ren waited a moment, but he didn't volunteer anything else. "Well, that could be just about anyone, could you be a little more specific?"

He seemed to think about this for longer than should be necessary. "Her name is Pearl," he said finally.

"That helps…so I should just ask every girl I meet in the…world, maybe, if her name is Pearl?"

"She's in this area."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do."

"But how?"

"None of your business!" he snapped, with more force than previously. Ren stepped back. "Nevermind. I have to find her, so if you hear anything, let me know."

"Where can I find _you_, then?" Ren recovered her voice. "In case I do hear something."

"I'm staying at the inn." He started to brush past her again, and this time Ren let him go.

"What's your name anyway?" she asked as he went by. The man stopped and looked at her. "You can't not answer, you know. I told you mine."

"Did you? I thought you weren't sure." Ren glared at him, and he shrugged. "Elazul." With that he turned and continued up the path.

* * *

"Elazul. El-az-ell. Ella-zhulll. Too many els." Ren commented to herself later, washing dishes at the restaurant.

"What are you on about?" Rachel said from the drying rack, peering over her shoulder.

"Oh, just collecting names. Can't know too many, I figure."


	2. Jade Cavern

* * *

2 – Jade Cavern

* * *

"Ren. Reeeeeennnnnn. Hey, Ren!" Rachel came running up the street and stopped, panting. "I think I found that girl!"

"You're awfully good at finding people, aren't you…" Ren commented, not really paying attention. She was busy readjusting her new swords for the fifth or sixth time since she'd left the blacksmith that morning. Then Rachel's words caught up with her. "What girl?"

"The girl the scary guy was looking for!" Rachel stamped her foot impatiently.

"Scary guy?" Ren thought back. "Oh. That one. I'd almost forgotten him."

Rachel stared at her in disbelief. "It was only yesterday! Do you just…forget everything when you wake up in the morning or what?"

"No, no." Ren waved a hand vaguely through the air. "I just…wasn't thinking about it. So, you said you saw her?"

"Yes!" Rachel bounced up and down a little, anxiously. "In the woods outside town. It had to be her, she was wearing all white and had silvery hair, like a pearl."

"I suppose that makes sense, in a very unimaginative sort of way." Ren shrugged. "Where did she go?"

"I tried to follow her but she disappeared." Rachel frowned. "The woods are usually pretty safe, but the last couple of days, I've heard rumors of strange monsters being seen out there. Usually monsters wouldn't come so close to town but…I'm worried about her. She seemed confused, walking in sort of a daze. Kind of like you."

"Gee. Thanks," Ren muttered. "I'd better go tell that Elazul guy. Coming?"

Rachel shook her head rapidly. "No way! He scares me. I'm going back to the restaurant, so tell me if you find her." The girl turned and buzzed quickly back down the path.

Ren sighed. So much for moral support. She turned off the main path and took the road to the village inn. Locating the large bird-like innkeeper, she inquired about the sandy-caped man, struggling to keep a straight face the whole time. Talking to a huge yellow chicken was a true exercise in self-control.

"Oh, he's gone out somewhere," the chicken lady answered. "To the park I think, he was asking for directions. Good riddance, if you ask me! He kept pacing around, scaring my baby every time he passed!"

Ren excused herself quickly, expressing condolences for the well-being of the chicken's…hatchling. Shaking her head in amusement, she took the path to the park she had found the day before.

The man who called himself Elazul was standing near the fountain, eyes closed as if he was listening to something. Ren waited a moment, but he didn't move, so she stepped forward.

"Hey," she said, trying to mimic the air-chilling voice he'd used the afternoon before. It didn't quite work, but it did get his attention.

"Oh. You," he said.

Ren was more than a little irritated by his tone. Before she could snap though, she noticed a look on his face, out of the corner of her eye. A worried, desperate kind of look. It disappeared quickly, but it made her decide not to bait him after all. "I think I saw your friend," she said instead. "Well, I didn't see her, Rachel did, but she told me. In the woods just east of town a bit."

Elazul stood up straighter and strode towards her. "She did? Will she show me where?"

"No, she's too frightened of you." Ren let her continued disapproval of his actions show in her tone. "But I'll go with you and help look. If you want."

He stopped, having the decency to look a bit embarrassed. "I…guess so. I haven't had much luck on my own." The guy sounded like he was grinding the words out between two millstones, but Ren figured that was the best she was going to get out of him.

"Come on then." She turned, beckoning over her shoulder. "Rachel said there were monsters about recently. We'd better hurry."

* * *

As they walked through the woods, Elazul stopped occasionally and took up that 'listening' pose again. Once, Ren thought she caught a flash of blue from beneath the scarf he was wearing. "So…what exactly are you doing?" she asked after the third or fourth time.

"Listening," he said unhelpfully.

Ren rolled her eyes. "I could tell that, I mean how?"

"I think we had this conversation already."

"Some kind of magic?" she persisted, but he cut her off.

"Over there," he said, pointing at what looked like a half-buried pile of rocks. Ren gave up on getting answers and walked over to the pile instead. Walking a little to one side and peering around a largish bush, she found the entrance to what seemed to be a cave.

"Look here," she called to Elazul, who hurried over. "I bet she went in here."

"Let's go," he said, and swung into the hole before Ren could protest. With a shrug, she lowered herself after him. Just beyond the hole was a short tunnel, which widened into a good-sized cavern. A shaft of light shone down from the entrance and clumps of bright fungus grew here and there, casting a greenish glow over the area. Water dripped incessantly from somewhere, and the whole place smelled damp.

"Huh," Elazul was a few feet away, looking around. "She _would_ wander into a place like this. Come on, this way, I'm sure of it." He started down an off shooting tunnel.

"Why, exactly, would she wander into a place like this?" Ren asked, looking over her shoulder. She thought saw eyes glow in the depths of the shadows, and then ran quickly to catch up with Elazul as strange creatures began emerging from the crevices behind her. "Look out!" she called, drawing her swords.

Elazul did the same, but he was still facing forward. "There's more over here."

Ren gripped the hilts tighter. She hoped she really did know how to use them. The creatures crept forward, some low and elongated like slugs, others craggy and hard, like turtles. Some even looking like walking mushrooms. Behind her, Elazul leapt forward, and then there was nothing to do but swing a weapon and hope it went well.

It did. Her sword connected with a slug-like monster and it exploded in a spray of goo. "Oh, _disgusting_," Ren complained, but luckily Elazul was too busy to glare at her.

After that, it became like a chaotic, goo stained dance. Her eyes seemed to glaze over and she moved from monster to monster with ease, dispatching one here, kicking a second one into a third, slicing both in half. The swords sang to her in a language only metal knows, and the monsters responded in kind. How much time passed she didn't know, so caught up in the fray that when she abruptly ran out of monsters, she nearly tripped and fell. The haze drifted away from her vision, and reality returned with sharp clarity and a lot of mess.

"You're…a little bloodthirsty, aren't you?" Elazul asked, walking over to her.

Ren looked at the carnage surrounding her. "Er…did I do all that?"

"Did you…?" Elazul stared at her. "Just because you're amnesiac, doesn't mean you have to be _insane_ as well. What do you mean 'did I do all that'?"

"Um, well that is…" Ren thought quickly. "I mean, you helped too, right?"

Elazul thought about it. "Well, I suppose so." He looked a bit proud of himself, and let the subject drop, to Ren's relief. "Come on, we'd better keep moving."

Now and then a leftover monster would try to press its luck and drop off the ceiling onto their heads, but they didn't encounter anymore big groups. Elazul picked his way carefully through the labyrinth of tunnels, stopping at every turning point to 'listen'. Ren just hoped he remembered the way back.

As they were waiting at a particularly confusing cross-section, Ren thought she heard something. "Listen," she urged Elazul.

"I am," he snapped. "But something's interfering with me."

"No, with your _ears_."

Elazul paused, turning his head this way and that. "I don't hear anything."

Ren stepped closer to one of the tunnels. "It's coming from this way." Without waiting for him to agree, she took off down the tunnel. Elazul followed her a bit hesitantly, but as they progressed, the strange sound Ren had barely heard was replaced by a more audible crashing that neither of them could miss.

"This way!" Ren rocketed around a corner with Elazul on her heels. They burst out of the tunnel into another large cave…occupied by what looked like a cross between a monkey and a bear. A really _big_ monkey and an even larger bear. She stopped dead and Elazul ran into her from behind, knocking them both into the room, and the monster's presence.

Elazul scrambled to his feet, one hand at the base of his throat. "Pearl!" he yelled. "Where are you?"

"El…Elazul?" A faint voice came from a strange set of rocky columns and crystals at the far end of the room. Anything else she would have liked to say was quickly drowned out by a deafening roar from the monster as it focused on the newcomers to its domain. Raising a crude but very heavy looking club, it charged toward the intruders.

Ren flung herself to one side, but Elazul stood his ground and raised his sword. With a shout, he swung the blade sideways and a wave of light sprang from the edge, slicing towards the monster. It gave another ear-piercing cry and clawed at its eyes, blinded.

"Oh, nice!" Ren exclaimed, but was quickly dismayed as the bear-ape stumbled _away_ from them and back towards the rock formation. It swung its arms about blindly, smashing its club into the columns, sending a shower of broken slate and quartz raining down. A feminine scream echoed through the cave. "Stop him!" Ren shrieked in response. Elazul sped forward, but couldn't do much to parry the blows of that huge weapon. He was forced to dodge to the side as the club crashed down once again.

Ren took a deep breath and launched herself at the monster. Grabbing for handholds on its thick fur, she scrambled up its back. The ape growled in frustration and tried to scrape this irritating insect off with huge hands, but Ren dodged them, swinging under one arm and stabbing her sword up right under its chin. The blade struck home and Ren let go of the ape's fur, letting her weight pull the sword free as she dropped to the floor and rolled out of the way. The monster tried to cry out, once, and then fell with a crash, scattering shards of rock everywhere.

Ren got slowly to her feet, shaking a bit, but the ape monster stayed where it was, quite dead. She let her breath out in a rush, and turned to the rock formation.

Elazul was already there, peering among the columns. "Pearl? Are you okay?"

Slowly, a small figure crawled out from behind a rock. She looked about the same age as Rachel, or maybe she was older and just looked young, Ren couldn't tell. "Elazul?" Pearl asked again, as he ran forward to help her up. "Oh, I'm so glad you came!"

"Of course I came!" Elazul snapped. "The question is why _you_ came! What are you _doing_ in a place like this?"

"I…I don't know…something was calling me but, it stopped…and then that _thing_ was here…" She sounded so sad and confused, Ren took a step forward.

"It's all right…" she said. "It's dead now."

Pearl seemed to notice her for the first time, and darted behind Elazul. "Who's that?"

Elazul looked at Pearl and then back at Ren, who realized she was still holding a bear-ape blood stained sword and probably didn't look very harmless at the moment. "Oh, her," he said. "She helped me find this place."

"You're welcome," Ren muttered. She looked around at the wreck the monster had made of the cavern, the dead monster itself, then back at Pearl, trying to figure out what the point had been. "So…have I rated an _explanation_ yet? Who are you two?"

Elazul looked at the floor for a moment, then sighed. "All right. Pearl and I are…Jumi." He reached up and loosened the scarf around his neck, revealing a large blue gemstone embedded just below his collarbone. It caught a spark of light reflected from a quartz crystal and shone briefly. Glancing at Pearl, Ren could see a similar stone in white, not quite hidden by her dress, disheveled as it was.

She tilted her head to one side. "That's very pretty. Is Jumi a country?" Elazul gaped at her.

Behind him, Pearl giggled, very softly, with one hand over her mouth. "Elazul…" she murmured. "You were all worried that she might find out, weren't you, and she doesn't even know what a Jumi _is_."

Elazul closed his mouth. "Jumi are…" he started, then stopped. "Oh forget it. Go ask someone. Come on Pearl, we're leaving." He turned and strode out of the cave.

Pearl started to hurry after him, then turned back to Ren. "Sorry," she whispered. "He's always like that lately. I think it's my fault so…" She looked sad. "Don't take it personally. Thank you for all your help."

"No problem." Ren raised a hand in farewell, confused as she was, and Pearl flashed a shy smile before racing to catch up with Elazul. In another moment, they were gone, leaving Ren standing in a silent cave.

She shrugged and looked around for something to clean her sword on. Figuring the monster's body was better than her clothes, she started towards it, but even as she did, it began to glow, and with a near blinding flash of light, it disappeared completely. Ren blinked, and glanced at her sword.

It was clean. She sheathed it thoughtfully, then took a more careful look at the room. There was only one exit…the way they'd come in, and that was narrow, leading into an even narrower tunnel. How had that huge bear-thing gotten inside without breaking the wall down?

Ren was still pondering this when the sound she'd heard back out in the tunnels broke into her thoughts. It seemed to be coming from the columns-and-crystal formation Pearl had been hiding behind. Closer now, it sounded like someone crying.

"Hello?" Ren called softly. "Is someone else there?"

There was a faint glow in response. Slowly it gathered shape until it became a bluish semi-transparent being, curled over a mound in the center of the formation, arms stretched around it like she was protecting something. As Ren approached, the spirit lifted her head, peering over her shoulder, and spoke.

"I'm sorry," Ren replied. "I don't understand you."

The spirit looked confused, then turned, hovering a bit with slow motions of her fish-like tail. She beckoned, reaching out with a slender arm and laying a cool hand along Ren's cheek.

_You came back._ A soft voice, like water over smooth pebbles, spoke in Ren's mind.

"Back?"

_I knew you would._

"Who are you? Do you know me? I can't remember anything, you see…" Ren tried to explain, but the spirit didn't seem to hear her.

_I kept him safe for you. _The blue woman looked back at the mound she'd been protecting. _Safe. I did not think I could hold on much longer, but you came._

"Kept who safe?"

_Thank you. _The spirit withdrew her hand and began to fade, as slowly as she'd appeared.

"Wait! Wait, what do you mean, don't leave…" Ren let her voice trail off, as her listener was already gone. She swallowed back a cry of frustration and turned her attention to the mound the spirit had been hovering over. It looked like any other mass of water-deposited rock, lumpy and shapeless with a slight greenish hue. She reached out to touch it and yanked her hand back fast as it began to dissolve before her eyes.

The rock melted back like ice in front of a candle, leaving no residue behind on the object it had been surrounding. It was an egg.

At least, that's what it looked like to Ren, though as she picked it up and tapped the shell carefully, it seemed too heavy and too hard to be a real egg. Besides, it had been sitting here for long enough for _rock _to grow over it, which had to be way too long for any kind of egg. So, maybe it was just an egg-shaped stone. It was pretty enough, green and smooth, like jade.

Ren didn't get much time to think about it, however. As she held the egg-stone up for a better look, the floor shifted ominously under her and a spattering of pebbles and dust fell from above. She looked up, worried, and then dove to one side just as a huge chunk of ceiling collapsed next to her. Glancing at the columns nearby, she could see them shake and begin to crumble; the whole place was about to come down.

Clutching the egg to her chest, Ren made a mad dash for the exit, but too late. With a rumble and a crash, the tunnel mouth shattered into fragments, blocking the passage. Stumbling backwards, Ren looked around in a panic. The quartz-crystal formation the spirit had been protecting fell in on itself with a cloud of shining particles and refracted light.

Light? Ren ran for the flash she had seen, coughing in the dust. Behind the formation, a hole had opened up, just big enough for a person to crawl through. Cradling the egg with one arm, Ren hauled herself through it and up the short tunnel into the woods beyond.

* * *

"What was _that_ all about?" she said a few minutes later, facing the collapsed, debris filled pit that used to be the cavern. It didn't answer. Ren shook her head and looked around. She had no clue where she was.

Thinking about it, Ren figured she and Elazul had been roughly south of Domina when they'd stumbled on the cave, so depending on which way they had been going underground…she had no clue. Well, north was probably the best direction to head. Checking the sun, Ren set out, hoping she wasn't actually widening the gap between herself and the town.

She hadn't been walking for more than twenty minutes when she stumbled into a clearing between trees. A small hill rose up, with a semi-clear path leading up it. At the top of the hill was a tree. No, a house. No…a treehouse, but not in the usual sense of the word. The house seemed to be built into the tree…or perhaps the tree had been deliberately grown into a house shape.

Ren was fascinated. Also, the egg was getting heavy and she wanted to put it down somewhere, so maybe whoever lived there could lend her a table or something. She started hopefully up the path.

As she reached the house, however, it became apparent that the place was deserted. The windows were boarded up, but the door was slightly ajar. Peering through it she could see what looked like several years worth of dead leaves and junk blown in by the wind and scattered about the floor. There was some furniture and such, but it obviously hadn't been used for a long time.

Ren set the egg on the table. There was a kitchen-like alcove in the corner, and another room to the right that might have been a library at one point. Climbing the stairs she found a small bedroom, and further up an empty attic.

"What a cute little house," she said to herself, descending the stairs again. She stepped outside and shut the door carefully behind her. "Living in a tree…" she ran a hand along the bark and looked up at the leaves overhead. "And it's still alive and growing. I could live here…I think. Something about it feels…" Ren sighed at herself. "What am I talking about? This place must belong to someone in town, and I don't have any money for rent."

Circling the tree she saw a path in the back leading to what looked like a barn or storage shed and on the other side, an overgrown orchard. A lifetime's worth of work to get this place up and running again, but…

"Well, I'll have to ask around about it. Someone in town must know a thing or two."

"Yes, yes, good idea!" A voice said behind her. Ren gave a small shriek and spun around. A large pelican was standing behind her. The Domina mailwoman, what was her name, Ama-something. Ren let out a sigh.

"Don't _do_ that!" she snapped. "You startled me!"

The pelican didn't bother to apologize. "Jennifer sent me to find you. She said that Rachel said that you went off with some strange man, and she was worried, so she asked me. You should go back you know, it's getting late and everyone's worried. Or did I say that already?"

"You did, actually."

"Oh." The pelican cocked her head. "Well, no harm in saying it twice, to make sure it's heard. Anyway, you should go back."

Ren sighed. "All right, all right. Which way is back?"

The pelican flapped her wings and hopped into the air, hovering rather ungracefully. "This way! I'll show you. It's not far at all."

"Then can't you just point it out to me, I'm sure I can…oh never mind." Ren gave up and followed the pelican.

Only when they had actually reached Domina proper did Ren remember that she'd left the egg on the table in the strange house. "Oh well. It's just a stone anyway, right? I'll go get it tomorrow or something."


	3. Haunted House

* * *

3 – Haunted House

* * *

Ren woke up several fairly normal days later with the nagging feeling she was forgetting something important. Not that this was anything new. Crossing her arms behind her head she tried to think back. Caverns full of monsters, strange disappearing spirits, pelicans with or without mail…had there been something else?

Oh right. Jumi.

"Rachel, what's a Jumi?" Ren rolled over on her side and prodded the other bed to wake up its occupant. Rachel opened her eyes and glared at her.

"Someone that gets to sleep in on her day off."

"Ha ha. You get days off?" Ren sat up. "No, really, what's a Jumi?"

Rachel sighed and rolled out of bed, rummaging in the dresser for her clothes. "They're like…walking jewels I guess. They have these stones…gemstones, that like, contain their souls or something. Are part of them. If you take them out they die."

"Sounds inconvenient, but…why would a Jumi hide who he is?"

Rachel shrugged, pulling her dress over her head. "Because, people _like_ those stones. They're huge and shiny or whatever. I'm not a jewel expert, but they're valuable. So collectors and such, they want them."

Ren frowned at her pillow. "Oh."

"So…you don't see many Jumi these days," Rachel continued. "Which only makes a certain type want them _more_. So the ones that are left are kind of…anti-social."

"That's disgusting." Ren rolled over again and stared at the ceiling.

"Yes, but that's how the world works." Rachel pulled on her shoes. "Are you going to toss and turn all day like a caterpillar making a cocoon or are you getting up?"

"I don't know if I want to get up now."

"Why? You're not a Jumi, no one's going to come after you."

"I know, I know." Ren threw the sheets off and headed for the wardrobe. "The whole idea just disturbs me for some reason."

Rachel stood tapping her foot while Ren changed. "Why did you ask, anyway? Wake me up to ask, no less."

"No reason, someone just mentioned it."

"Huh." Rachel peered at her, then her eyes widened. "It's that scary guy isn't it!"

Ren dropped her hair-sticks in surprise and had to go hunting under the bed for one that rolled away. "What the heck gave you that idea?" she exclaimed on emerging.

"The way you asked 'why would a Jumi want to hide it'. Not 'the' Jumi, but 'a' Jumi, and a 'he' no less. Also, you don't remember anything, so you shouldn't know _any_ Jumi, which means you met one recently…and that guy is anti-social as all get out."

Ren fixed the last stick into place. "You're…really insanely smart aren't you. What are you doing working in your parents' restaurant?"

Rachel looked pleased with herself, but didn't reply. Ren started to ask about it again, then paused. There was something else, wasn't there…what was it…

* * *

"…all these flashes of light and explosions like some unholy demon was up all night experimenting! I swear that house is haunted! And then…"

"Houses!" Ren smacked her fist in her palm. "That was it!"

Rachel stared at her. They were doing some shopping, just passing by the vegetable stall when a scrap of conversation floated over to them. Before she could ask, however, Ren was hurrying over to the stall to interrogate the speakers.

"I wanted to ask someone about that house on the hill south of here," she said, interrupting the shopkeeper and the customer he'd been addressing. The shopkeeper didn't seem to mind though.

"I was just telling my friend about it! I live on the south side of town and can almost see it from my upstairs window. Been deserted for ages, as long as I've lived here, but last night, I saw a huge green flash of light from it! Then there were all kinds of noises drifting up, shrieks and cries like something being murdered. I'm telling you, the place is haunted! It's only a matter of time before…"

"Yes, yes," Ren interrupted again. "I think I can handle it." After the bear-ape, why be afraid of a few ghosts? "Who owns it, is what I wanted to know."

The shopkeeper scratched his head. "I don't rightly know."

The customer, who'd been patiently waiting for Ren to stop monopolizing the stall, cleared her throat. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't belong to anyone, but that crazy rabbit Niccolo was trying to sell it anyway. Something as petty as actual ownership wouldn't stop him from trying to turn a profit."

"Niccolo?" Ren pounced on the name. "I'll go ask him then."

"I just said he doesn't own…" The woman's voice faded off as Ren brushed the curtain aside and left the stall.

She located Rachel at the flower-seller, buying new decorations for the restaurant tables. "Did you get any onions?" The winged girl asked.

"Onions? Why would I get onions?"

"You went into the vegetable stall." Rachel waved the shopping list under Ren's nose. "I assumed you would actually get some _vegetables_."

"No, no, I went to ask about houses. Do you know someone named Niccolo?"

Rachel sighed and folded the list again. "You make no sense, do you know that? Yes, I know Niccolo…little fat guy, always trying to charge people ridiculous amounts of money for junk. He sold Teapo a broken cart wheel not long ago, and it took us ages to convince her to throw it out. He avoids our place like the plague now, since Dad went after him for a refund."

"Okay…so he's _not_ at your place. Any idea where I _can_ find him?"

"Who knows? Just look for someone with 'sucker' tattooed on their forehead, and Niccolo will be right behind them." Ren looked blankly at her. Rachel grinned, a little evilly. "Actually, you look like perfect bait. Come on, let's try the inn."

* * *

"Oh! Hey, I am not!" Ren caught the reference just as they reached the front door of the inn.

"Of course not, that's why you went tearing out after some Jumi, practically begging to help with his problems, despite how utterly rude he was being."

"I was just trying to be nice. From what you said, those Jumi could use someone being nice to them occasionally."

"Nice is just a euphemism for sucker. Besides, you didn't know he was a Jumi, or anything about Jumi, before you barged on in."

"Well…that's because…" Ren thought desperately. "If I fixed the problem, maybe he wouldn't bother anyone else!"

"Sucker." Rachel flipped her wings and went to get the door, only to have it blown open in her face by a barrel shaped, brown furred, garishly dressed rabbit. "Ah," she said, winking at Ren. "See?"

"Ahhh!" The rabbit jumped. "Not you again! Tell your dad there are no refunds, he broke it, he pays for it!"

"We didn't break it, you flea-bitten rabite!" Rachel snapped. "You sold it to Teapo like that! Said it was 'antiqued'," she shook her head. "Nevermind, I'm not here about the stupid wheel. _She_ wants to talk to you."

Ren brightened. "You must be Niccolo!"

The rabbit turned, eyeing her appraisingly. "Yes I am! At your service! What can I do for you today? I have a great collection of oddities and rarities from around the globe…look just here. I have…" He reached into his bag and rummaged around with great concentration before extracting an object with a flourish. "A statue of the mana goddess!" He held up the prize, a motley collection of beads and bits of cloth held together by string. "Hand-crafted by the aborigine tribes of the deep jungle! A one of a kind piece."

"Oooohhh," Ren peered closely at it. "Look, it's got shiny bits for eyes and…wait a minute!" She flung out a hand, knocking the doll to the floor. "I don't want a mana goddess! I want a house!"

Retrieving the goddess with a fluid motion, Niccolo didn't even pause. "Well, let's see, I have a gorgeous three bedroom, kitchen, and indoor bath arrangement, just waiting for you on the main street of Lumina. Or if something more cozy is your style, there's a quaint little beachfront property just come up in Polpotoa, great view of the ocean…"

"Argh, _stop_ it!" Ren almost screamed. "I don't want just _any_ house, I want _that_ house." She pointed to the south. On cue, a loud explosion shattered the air from the same direction, sending a brief but furious shockwave over the area.

Niccolo looked in the direction of the noise, obviously thinking furiously. "Hmm…" he said. "That's a prime bit of real estate…"

"I think it just exploded…" Rachel said, still staring south.

"…but due to recent unfortunate circumstances, I'm prepared to offer you a discount." Another explosion rattled the inn's windows. "How does five thousand a month sound?"

Ren pondered the state of her purse. "If I clear the ghosts out, can I get the first month's rent free?"

"Ghosts?" Niccolo stared at her. "Did you just hear me? I said five thousand a month!"

"Sure, no problem." Ren fidgeted a bit, waiting for another explosion. "But I'd better get going, things sound pretty hectic down there."

"Uh, yeah…first month free…my treat…" The rabbit seemed confused.

"Great! I'll just nip over and exorcise some ghosts then! Be right back!" Ren took off towards the treehouse. Behind her, Niccolo spluttered a bit, then recovered his voice.

"And make sure they're all the way gone or no deal!"

* * *

Ren sprinted down the path towards the treehouse, humming happily to herself. She could move out, have her own space. No more feeling like a lost kitten picked up in the rain. More importantly, no more butterfly woman hugging her and hovering around trying to feed her.

A flash of orange in the bush made her pause, but looking closer, it was gone. "Huh," she said to herself, and continued on. Before long, she could see the treehouse up ahead, made easily visible by the eerie beams of yellow and green light spurting out between the window boards. Picking up speed, she burst into the clearing around the house, and had to stop.

It was surrounded by pumpkins.

They spilled out from the grove where the orchard was, tumbled over the hill and ended in a haphazard, orange and green ring around the tree itself. Ren stared at them; she was sure they hadn't been there before.

"Well, okay," she said to herself. "But your memory hasn't exactly been the best lately." She began carefully picking her way between the rows. "Or maybe this is some new fast-growing breed, one that…ack!" Ren tripped over a slightly raised vine and tumbled head first into the rows.

Picking herself up, she noticed the vine trying to wrap itself around her ankle. Yanking a sword from its sheath, she swung down and cut it away. The pumpkin attached to it suddenly shuddered, opened two triangular eyes like pits, and screamed with a mouth full of squarish teeth. Ren shrieked in reply and sliced it in half, spraying pumpkin bits everywhere.

Not fast enough. The pumpkin's cry had awakened the others, and the whole yard seemed to surge towards her like a rippling orange wave. Tentacle-like vines writhed, and gaping black mouths launched themselves at her head.

Swinging both swords madly now, Ren carved a path towards the house. With a final swipe and a lunge, she reached the door and jerked it open. Diving inside and slamming it shut, she was rewarded with several loud thuds as disappointed squash hit the wood.

"What the heck is going _on_ in here?" she yelled at the room in general.

"Stay away from my _sister_!" A voice yelled back, which was no answer at all. Ren pushed herself to her feet and surveyed the scene. It looked like a rainbow had crashed into a fruit stall and exploded. Bits and pieces of pumpkin were strewn about the room, and colored lights danced crazily about the ceiling, illuminating two figures cowering by the fireplace.

The first was a young girl, crouching in the corner, clinging to a battered looking broom. The second was a boy, probably her twin, madly swinging what appeared to be a frying pan. His target crouched on the table before them, hissing madly.

It was a dragon. Covered in green scales and about two feet long from head to tail, it wouldn't be terribly impressive if it wasn't spurting licks of nasty bluish flame at the erratic motions of the kitchen utensil.

Ren lifted her sword to dispatch it…attacking children was a bad sign after all, but a sparkle on the table beside it caught her eye. Bits of what looked like green glass were scattered there, and more on the floor. The thought that had been nagging her all day finally clicked into place.

"It was an egg after all!" she exclaimed.

At the sound of her voice, the dragon turned. The flame died. Ren looked at the hatchling. It looked at her. Then with a high-pitched cry, it launched itself from the table and wrapped its snake-like body around her shoulders, trying to lick her face.

Ren didn't get much of a chance to absorb this, though, because just then a broom handle knocked her feet out from under her, and a large chuck of metal descended towards her head as the dragon flung itself away.

Bringing her sword up just fast enough, she sent the frying pan flying across the room. Rolling to the side to avoid another swipe from the broom, she dropped the sword and grabbed the back of the boy's robe as he scrambled for his weapon. Dragging him with her as she rose, she aimed her other blade in the direction she hoped was the girl. She got it spot on and the girl gave a squeak and stumbled backwards.

"What are you two doing here! This is _my_ house!" she growled, then froze. Standing in the flickering light with her weapon pointed at a child reminded her of a certain blue-eyed Jumi and his questionable behavior.

"Oh," she said, and lowered the sword. Letting go of the boy, she watched him scurry over to stand by his sister. "Sorry, I think I overreacted."

The girl swallowed and stood up a little straighter. "We're so sorry! We didn't know it belonged to anyone! We were just looking for a place to stay!"

"Lisa!" The boy hissed. "Don't be such a wilting flower!" He turned and glared at Ren. "This is our house now! We're claiming it by the power of our magic!" He raised a hand and pointed it at her, but nothing happened. Then a bolt of reddish light arced down from the ceiling and turned the chair next to him into ash.

"Ack!" The girl backed away from the remains. "That's enough, Bud! Isn't this getting a little out of hand?"

"No!" Bud waved his hands frantically. "I can handle it! I'm fine!"

"The pumpkins," Ren interrupted when nothing else exploded. "Are they yours then?"

"No!" Lisa wailed. "I mean yes, but they weren't supposed to end up like that!"

"Of course they weren't!" Bud snapped. "They were supposed to stay under our control and then we'd march them into the town and take over, and everyone would respect us and know what great magicians we are and…"

"Take over?" Ren asked in disbelief. "With _pumpkins_?"

Bud looked at the floor. " 's all we could find. In the garden over there."

"But then, just as we were finishing up the magic circle and everything, that _thing_ hatched all over it…and the spell went crazy!" Lisa pointed at the dragon, who was clinging to one of the ceiling supports and trying to catch the flickering beams of light. "Then it tried to attack us, and the pumpkins ran outside and we got stuck in here…" she joined her brother in looking at the floor. "We're really sorry."

"Are not," Bud muttered.

"It doesn't matter," Ren said, half amused and half annoyed. "There's rampaging evil pumpkins out there, and I have to do something about them now, before they wander up to the village."

"_You're_ going to do something about them?" Bud looked up, disbelief on his face. "How?"

Ren bent over and retrieved her other sword. "I hope you like pumpkin seeds," she said, and opened the door.

A orange ball of fury flew straight at her face, but she flicked her sword out and knocked it aside. Stepping outside, she swung the blades in arc after arc, leaving a trail of pumpkin innards in her wake.

"Wait! We'll help!" she heard Lisa call behind her, and suddenly a short wave of fire blew past, leaving several charred pumpkins in its wake. She saw Bud do the same on the other side and was about to get back to work when a gurgling cry rose up from the west.

The three defenders turned to look, just in time to see the biggest jack-o-lantern in history emerge from its hiding spot in the orchard. It was nearly as tall as the treehouse, with huge flames glowing deep within its eyes. The misshapen orange teeth dripped some unknown liquid, and the whole thing rolled along on a bed of writhing vines.

"So…what were you planning on attacking with that one? Domina's non-existent army?" Ren asked the nearest kid.

"I didn't make that one!" Bud exclaimed. "I don't know anything about it."

"Ah." Ren looked speculatively at the giant vegetable, or was it a fruit? "Whatever, let's kill it." She charged down the hill, twins in her wake.

Chopping her sword at the monster's side, it quickly became apparent that it wouldn't do much good. Superficial cuts to its rind only seemed to make the pumpkin's smirk wider, and the vines kept replacing themselves from an endless supply. Ren leapt back from another useless run and forced herself to stop and think.

The flickering fire in the depths of its eyes intrigued her. "Bud! Lisa!" she called. "Can you make water?"

"Yes!" Lisa called. "But I can't charge up a spell, it's these stupid vines!"

"I'll take care of the vines, you two aim as much water as you can make at its eyes!" Ren ran forward again, wildly cutting away at the vines around the young spellcasters. She heard them chanting and then twin streams of icy water shot past her head and poked the pumpkin squarely in the eyes. It howled in rage, and Ren found herself staring into the gaping maw of its open jaws. "Let's see what makes you run," she murmured, and leapt inside.

Probably not the brightest of ideas, she thought as blackness surrounded her. After what seemed an interminably long time, a faint glow appeared in front of her. It began to take shape, solidifying with familiar slowness, forming a sinuous red being with the look of a snake and a crown of flames.

The snake-thing flickered a bit, then reached out carefully and laid a hand on Ren's shoulder.

_I was waiting_.

"Another one? Who _are_ you?" Ren asked, but this one paid no more attention than the fish-woman.

_So long in the darkness, the cold between worlds. Then suddenly, summoned. I could do nothing, only lash out…but now it is over. Well done…I must rest…_ The spirit began to fade. Just as it was almost gone, Ren heard its voice again, on the edge of audibility.

_Pumpkins. How embarrassing…_

Ren realized she was kneeling among the shattered remains of a giant squash, staring at an empty patch of air. Embarrassing indeed. She sighed and started to stand up.

"That was _so cool_," an admiring voice said from behind her. Turning, she saw Bud and Lisa watching her with shining eyes.

"You did it, not me," she said, peering at her swords. There were pumpkin guts stuck to them.

"Nuh uh," Bud said. "We shot water at it, and the eyes went out, but it kept coming, and you just like, _jumped _into its_ mouth_, that was insane you know? Then it just…exploded from the inside. There was this huge flash of red light and there you were, sitting like nothing happened. So cool," he repeated.

"Oh." Ren looked at the slivers of pumpkin rind again. "I wonder how."

"You don't _know_?" Lisa squeaked.

"I've been having…memory problems lately," Ren explained. "I don't know a lot of things."

"You exploded that pumpkin while having memory problems?" Bud's eyes widened. "Teach me!"

"How can I teach you if I don't know how…"

"It doesn't matter! Teach me anything! I'll be your apprentice!"

"I don't want an…"

"Please!"

"Please!" Lisa echoed, getting into the spirit of the thing.

Ren opened her mouth to protest again, then looked around at the wreckage of the yard. There were bits of pumpkin everywhere, the smaller ones seeming to have died when the big one did. The other plants were a wreck, and the front door was hanging by one hinge. She could only imagine what the inside of the house looked like.

"Huh," she said. "Well, it won't be easy!"

"We'll do anything!" Lisa said eagerly.

"Then I accept. You can start by cleaning up the mess you made."

* * *

When Ren returned to Domina late that night, she found Mark standing in front of the house, holding an embarrassed-looking Niccolo by the scruff of his jacket. "Ren! There you are. Rachel told me this _person_ had sent you off on a wild ghost-chase down towards that old abandoned treehouse."

"Yeah, well." Ren rubbed the back of her neck thoughtfully. "There weren't any ghosts after all, and I think we've cleared out all of the pumpkins…"

"Pumpkins?"

"Mmm." Ren dropped her hand and grinned. "So have I worked off my rent, then?"

"Rent?" Niccolo mumbled at the floor. "Oh right, rent…certainly…what had we agreed on?"

Mark gave the rabbit a shake. "We've had this discussion already. You were mistaken, remember? Go on, tell her…"

"Ah…ah…" Niccolo seemed to sag. "I was mistaken. I thought you meant the old abandoned house on the _north_ side of town. That's a much better apartment, complete with…" Mark glared down at him. "That is, I mean… the-treehouse-to-the-south-isn't-actually-mine-to-sell." The words came out in a rush. "So you don't have to pay me…anything."

"Good." Mark let go of the merchant's collar. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Niccolo shot a vicious glare at him. "You promised…no more asking for a refund then?"

"It will never cross my mind again."

Niccolo turned huffily and stalked back up the street towards the market. Ren watched him go, then turned back to Mark. "It wasn't his?"

"No." The insect man sighed. "You should be more careful…especially dealing with people like Niccolo!"

"Rabbits?" Ren frowned. "But…" Then the truth of the situation caught up to her. "Oh…I guess am I sucker after all."

"A sucker?"

"Yeah." Ren pouted at the street for a moment. "Well, good thing I'm moving out. I don't think I could live with Rachel after this!"


	4. Windfall

* * *

4 – Windfall

* * *

"Come on, boss," Bud whined. "We can't just stay in here doing housework for the rest of our _lives_."

"Besides," Lisa interrupted, a little more politely. "How are you going to recover your memory if all you do is stay at home and weed the plants?"

It had been nearly a month since the attack of the killer pumpkins. For the first week, the twin terrors had been absolute angels, hanging on her every word and doing anything she asked. Then, the realization had sunk in that their 'master' knew less about the world than they did. So, though they still acknowledged her superiority, it was accompanied by a lot more whining.

Ren sighed. "You're probably right. I'm not learning anything around here." She scowled at her plate. "Except maybe how _not_ to cook." Standing up, she opened the shutter and scraped the remains of the meal out the window. "Viri! Breakfast!" she called.

"_Mine!_" There was a rush of air and the window was briefly obscured by green scales as the little dragon swooped down on what had probably been eggs before Ren got to them. Despite his odd diet of leftovers, he'd more than doubled in size, and Ren had finally kicked him out of her bed and into the barn. He didn't like that, however, and took up roosting in the top of the tree, where he could jump down on unsuspecting visitors. The snake-like creature had no wings, but he flew just fine; Ren tried not to think about that too much, it gave her a headache. Actually, anything involving Viridian gave her a headache.

Ren leaned on the windowsill, watching him eat. 'Mine' indeed. The first word out of the dragon's mouth had been 'Mine', spoken only three days after his hatching, as he ambushed Ren on her way back from a visit to Domina. "Viridian, no!" she had yelled, as the dragon's rapidly increasing weight knocked her to the ground. He had floated up into the air, surprised.

Not as surprised as Ren, however, who hadn't even thought about a name for him yet. It had simply sprung from her lips, and stuck. Viridian he was, and how could he be anything else? Ren tried to convince herself it was because of the color…but a nagging part of her brain told her there was more to it than that.

Since then, every time she looked at the dragon, it made her head hurt.

"Soooooo?" a voice whined from behind her. "Where are going then?"

Bud and Lisa also made her head hurt. Ren pushed away from the window and turned back to the table. "I don't know. Or care. You tell me."

The two looked at each other. "Let's go to the Gato Grottoes," said Lisa, unofficial spokestwin.

"That didn't take long to come up with…" Ren muttered. "You guys have been _planning_ this haven't you."

"No of course not…" said Bud unconvincingly. "They only have the most amazing temple there…"

"…with this flame that never goes out…"

"…and priestesses that move so fast you can't even blink…"

"…and a waterfall where they say you can sometimes still see faeries…"

"…and it's not that far, maybe a day's walk or so…"

"…and we packed enough food for the trip and set it aside _just in case_ you might want to see them some time…"

"I get it! I get it! We'll go to Gato." Ren sighed again.

Bud and Lisa high-fived each other. "Yes!"

* * *

They left the house not long after, since the forward-thinking Bud and Lisa had already made preparations, and Ren wasn't really one to dawdle once she'd made up her mind. Or had it made up for her, as the case may be. Whistling to Viridian, she started down the path with the green dragon hovering behind her.

"You're not bringing that _thing_, are you?" Bud complained.

"He can't stay here by himself," Ren said with a shrug. "Besides, it'll be good for him to get out and see new things. Get him socialized, so he won't keep attacking everyone who comes up the path."

"Yes, instead he can attack everyone we meet in Gato. I don't think that will make a very good impression."

Ren glanced up at the dragon, who contrived to look innocent. "You won't attack anyone in Gato, will you Viri?"

"_No…_" the dragon agreed, accompanied by the burbling sound that was his form of a giggle.

"See?" Ren continued down the path.

"Oh come on, boss…you don't believe it just like that do you?"

"Him," Ren corrected.

"How can you tell?" Lisa asked. "It just looks like a snake with legs to me," she ducked as the dragon took a swipe at her ponytail. "And the voice is kind of… ambiguous."

"_Male!_" The dragon hissed, glaring at her and lashing his tail past her nose. Lisa giggled and backed away.

After that, the conversation turned to the various indicators of gender in animals, from which it progressed to a discussion on the differences between males and females in _thinking_ populations, and by the time they made camp it had degenerated into a shouting match between Bud and Lisa over whether boys or girls made better spellcasters. Ren told them to shut up and go to sleep just before the first fireball could be cast, and by morning it was all forgotten.

The next day they reached the city of Gato, a collection of wind-teasing spires and low mushroom-shaped houses clustered about a mountain peak, at the top of which rested a flimsy looking temple. The path had been getting progressively steeper all morning, while the wind tried to blow them off at random intervals, much to Viridian's delight. He gave a happy cry and took off to dance in the eddies above the town. Watching him made Ren dizzy, especially when he started to circle the temple tower, which looked ready to fall over any minute. "How does it stay up?" she asked, leaning against the wall of a small house.

"Magic!" said Bud. "Can we go see?"

Ren sighed. "Aren't you tired at all?"

"Nope!" Lisa bounced around excitedly. "Let's go!" She began running up the street, with Bud right behind her. Ren shook her head and started to follow them, only to find the path blocked by a three foot tall rubber plant.

At least, that's what it looked like, but it was vaguely humanoid as well. It had leaf covered arms, and leaf like feet, and leaves covering its head. As she peered closer she could see that it even had eyes, sort of, in a pale face. They seemed stuck on, like glass ones on a doll. As she watched, the lower part of the face cracked open into a wide smile. The whole effect was very disturbing.

Ren realized she was staring and decided to simply walk past the thing, it wasn't very polite to keep looking like that. Perhaps walking doll-plants were common in these parts. As she neared it, though, it turned towards her.

"Hi!" it said in a squeaky, childish voice. Ren stopped.

"Er…hello," she said. The plant didn't respond; it just stood there, staring up at her with those wide unblinking eyes and grinning. "Anyway," Ren muttered, and started to continue on.

"I'm a sproutling!" the sproutling said. Ren sighed and turned back to it. "That's very nice. Are you selling something?" she asked, unable to think of any other reason it would be standing in the road talking to random passersby.

The sproutling tilted its head back and forth a few times. "No. Unless you want to buy a popo bug. I think I have one around here somewhere…" It started to rummage among its leaves.

"Eww! That's gross! Stop it!" Ren waved her hands frantically. "I don't want anything that comes out of there!"

"You don't?" The sproutling let the leaves fall, looking disappointed. "I thought everyone did. My brother's always getting chased for his."

"Your brother?" Ren looked around. "Are there _more_ of you around here?"

"Around here?" The sproutling looked in all the same directions. "'Around here' doesn't matter. We're all connected." It sidled closer, gazing at Ren. Then it reached up as far as it could and poked her lightly in the stomach.

A vision like a wave overtook Ren. Suddenly it was like she was seeing from thousands of eyes. Sproutling eyes, with strange colors and shapes where normal things were supposed to be, past and present and future all at once, in a nauseating blend of movement and circumstance that swirled the whole world together into a mad artist's palette. She choked and dropped to her knees.

"All connected." The sproutling said again, grinning happily.

"Hey!" Lisa suddenly came running up. "What're you doing!" She shooed the sproutling away with her broom. It scampered off, chasing a butterfly, apparently having forgotten what it was saying a moment before. "Argh, those things are everywhere! What happened? Did you trip on it?"

Ren got slowly to her feet. "No, no, I just got dizzy suddenly. I wonder if it's the height…" A nervous whining sound came from overhead; Ren looked up to see a vague greenish mass filling the sky. A dragon larger than the mushroom houses was descending, talons bared and blue flame spurting from its jaws. Ren shrieked and covered her head, but nothing happened. A soft weight pressed against her. She looked down.

"_Ren?_" Viridian pushed his head against her leg again. "_Okay?_"

Ren blinked rapidly. "Viri?" She looked up at the sky then back down at the little dragon. "Where did the big one go?"

"The big one of what?" Lisa asked, confused.

"The…dragon…" Ren rubbed at her eyes. It must have just been leftover strangeness from the sproutling vision. She reached down and gave Viridian a pat on the head. "It's okay, it was nothing." The little dragon looked comforted and floated up into the air again, hovering just over her head.

Lisa continued to look concerned for a moment, but shrugged it off. "Anyway, Bud's gone up to the temple, but I saw you fall over and came back to help. He's probably there by now."

Ren nodded, and the small movement seemed to clear her head the rest of the way. "All right."

* * *

At the gates of the temple they quickly found Bud, standing in front of a familiar looking sandy-caped man.

"So," he was saying. "Are you a priest? Or maybe a temple guard?"

The man looked like he'd like nothing better than to get away, but Bud was remarkably good at blocking exits for one so short.

"Oh!" Suddenly the image clicked, and Ren ran forward. "Bud, leave off!"

The man looked up. "Ren, wasn't it?" He eyed the dragon over her head suspiciously; Viridian was making little growling noises in his throat. "Is that yours?"

"Viri, quiet," Ren said without looking. The dragon whined and flew upward again, aiming for the temple tower. "Hello again, El…" she stopped, fishing in her memory. "…can I call you El?"

He blinked, once. "No. What's wrong with my name?"

Ren thought harder, but still drew a blank. "Names with more than three syllables confuse me," she hazarded.

"It doesn't have more than three syllables."

Ren tried not to look as embarrassed as she felt. "It doesn't…oh, of course, how silly of me…"

"You've forgotten it, haven't you."

"No, no, I just like to keep things simple…"

" 'Elazul' is simple. You managed it just fine before."

"Right…right…Elazul. I knew that."

Elazul looked skeptically at her.

Ren looked around for a subject change and her eyes fell on the twins. "So anyway…these are my new apprentices, Lisa and…"

"I'm Bud, the magnificent! Up and coming master magician," said Bud, from all of his four foot height. He stopped to consider Elazul for a moment. "Got it! You must be that Jumi the boss was talking about!"

Elazul shot a glare at Ren, who blinked. "Did I mention it?" she said, staring off into the distance. "Hmm, I don't remember…"

"You're just making it up now," he muttered. "I really wish you wouldn't spread it arou…"

"So," Ren interrupted. "Speaking of Ju…er, juniors…where's Pearl?"

This time it was Elazul's turn to look embarrassed. "How come you remember _her_ name?" he said, obviously avoiding answering.

"It only has one syllable." Ren grinned. "Really, where is she?"

"In there." Elazul pointed at the temple. "I think."

"You think?"

"Yes."

"Going to explain?"

"I wasn't planning on it…"

"I think we've had this conversation already," Ren said slyly.

"I can't believe you're quoting me and you couldn't even remember my name." Elazul sighed. "Fine." He looked around, but Bud and Lisa had run up to the temple doors to interrogate the priestess standing guard there. "Pearl and I were staying at the inn here, and when I woke up this morning, she was gone. Just like that. I tried to track her with my…" He paused. "Did you ask anyone about Jumi after all?"

"Yeah, Rachel told me a bit, and Bud and Lisa know everything…or think they do. They were saying something about knights and guardians and whatnot, but I was busy trying to get Viri out of the chimney so I don't remember…"

Elazul shook his head. "Nevermind. Anyway, I got a sense of her to the north, but then the wind started acting up and I can't feel her anymore. But, the only things north of here are the temple, and further up, the waterfall, so…"

"Well let's go inside then! What are you standing out here for?" Ren started to run up the path.

"I already tried…" Elazul sighed again and followed her.

* * *

"Usually the flame would be on display, but lately the wind's been acting up so much, we've had to keep the room boarded up to keep it from blowing out," the priestess at the doors was telling the twins as Ren and Elazul walked up. Lisa turned to them, looking distraught.

"She says we can't come in," she whined. "Not only do they have to keep the holy flame locked up to keep it from blowing out in the wind, they've heard rumors that someone's trying to _steal _it…so no one's allowed in the temple at _all_."

"I told you," said Elazul.

"How do you steal a fire?" asked Ren, ignoring him. "I mean, do you just stick a torch in it and carry it out?"

The twins fidgeted. "How _boring_. After we came all this way too!" Bud sighed.

"Well…I'm sure they'll work it out soon, won't they?" Lisa looked hopefully at the doorkeeper, who smiled sadly.

"Maybe. I'm sorry about this."

"Argh, fine!" Bud turned and ran back down the path. "Come on Lisa, let's see if they have any rare reagents in the shops here!"

The priestess watched them scamper off. Then she turned to Elazul. "I already told you, sir. You can't come in, and I'm certain your friend couldn't be in here either. The temple's been closed to visitors for two days, and there are always guards posted."

"I know, I heard you." Elazul started to walk away again.

"Wait a minute!" Ren called after him. "You said the waterfall was north of here too? Could she have gone there?"

Elazul looked up at the mountain, laced with paths and riddled with holes. "Normally I would say no, but…" The rest of his sentence was lost as the great temple doors began to creak open. Everyone in front of them backed up quickly.

Three people emerged from the temple; a man with fire-red hair and two veiled priestesses. "Rubens!" The doorkeeper exclaimed. "What's going on?"

The red-haired man turned to her. "Judging from its direction most of the time, we think the wind disturbance is coming from the waterfall, so we're going to check…" He paused, his eyes falling on the group of visitors. "I'm afraid the temple will remain closed for some time more, I apologize for any inconvenience." He started towards the gates with the priestesses trailing him.

"Rubens!" Elazul suddenly stepped forward. The other man turned. "That's your name, right?"

"Yes…"

"Take me with you. I think a…friend of mine might have gotten lost on those paths. I need to find her quickly."

Rubens looked perplexed. "A friend? We will keep an eye out for her, certainly, but there are many paths up the mountain, it would be best if you took a different route…" He stopped again, staring harder at Elazul. "Ah. So that's the way it is. Perhaps you'd better come with us after all."

Ren looked from Elazul to Rubens and back to Elazul, with the strange feeling she was missing something. Then she shrugged. "Whatever. We'd better get going then!"

"Why are _you_ coming?" Elazul glared at her.

"I like Pearl! Why shouldn't I want to help?"

"You only met her the once!"

"Unlike some people, Pearl made a good impression the first time around." Ren turned away from him before he could respond to that, and smiled at Rubens instead. "You don't mind, do you? I have nothing else to do down here."

"This isn't a guided tour…" he said. "There could be anything up there." He noticed the swords hanging from her belt, then looked up questioningly.

"She's decent," Elazul said, grudgingly.

"Aw, thanks, El! I didn't think you noticed!"

"El?" Rubens gave half a smile.

"Elazul!" The young Jumi sighed. "You didn't forget again already did you?"

* * *

The trek up proved less eventful than Ren had thought it would be. There were very few wild animals, and most of them ran away without stopping to pick a fight.

"It's the wind," Rubens said, after the hundredth gust tried to knock them back down the mountain. "There's been an increase in monster attacks lately, but most of them are flying types and have too much trouble maneuvering in this."

"We're having trouble maneuvering in this too!" One of the priestesses exclaimed. "Maybe we should look for another way."

"No," the other priestess said forcefully. "We're almost there!" She reached out to help the first, but tripped and stumbled into her instead, sending both sprawling on the path.

"Ow!" The first priestess gasped. "My leg!" The rest of the group hurried back to help. "I think I've sprained something."

Rubens helped the fallen woman up, while Ren and Elazul blocked the wind as best they could. "No good," he said finally. "She can't make it up like this."

"Or back down, either," Elazul pointed out. "Not with the wind this way. I think it's getting worse."

Rubens nodded, then helped the limping priestess over to a large rock. "You can shelter from the wind here. We'll continue and get rid of whatever's causing it. Then we can help you back down."

The woman nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it! We've got extra help anyway," he gestured at Ren and Elazul, then stood and walked back up to them, with the second priestess behind him. "Let's keep going, the top of the falls is just around that bend."

As the small group finally rounded that bend, the path widened, forming a ledge jutting out from the side of the mountain. Above them, a short but wide waterfall poured from a higher ledge into a small pond at their feet, surrounded by hardy bushes, moss and even some small trees. From there it tumbled haphazardly over the stones to the cliff's edge, and fell thousands of feet towards a mist-shrouded valley below.

Or would have fallen, if the wind wasn't whipping the whole stream into fine spray, flinging it back up into the faces of the climbers.

"Why, look at that view! I think is what a good tourist is supposed to say at a time like this," Ren yelled over the roar of the wind and the falls.

"What view?" shouted Elazul, shielding his face with one hand. "I can't see a thing!"

_Help me!_

Ren spun around, looking in the direction the voice had come from. There, above the rock pool, a shape was forming, misty and unclear.

_Help me! She's done something to the water, to the air! I can't control the…_

"Who is?" Ren ran forward, but the spirit that had been forming flickered madly.

_I can't…can't stop, there's nothing to do but…let go…catch me!_

The spirit shattered, all at once, fine droplets spraying outward, mostly towards Ren. She threw a hand up in front of her face, but all she felt was a light breeze and a voice in her ear.

_Thank you for coming. I almost lost myself… _The voice faded.

"Argh! Not again!" Ren complained. Her own voice echoed unnaturally loud, and she looked around, surprised. The wind had stopped. The falls dropped undisturbed down into the valley, the stream bubbling happily but quietly along. Elazul, Rubens and the priestess were all staring at her.

"What did you do?" Rubens asked, stepping over to the top of the falls and peering down. "It's completely stilled, just like that!"

"Ah, I…don't know."

"You don't know?" Elazul threw up his hands in mock disbelief. "I'm shocked."

"It worked didn't it?" Ren snapped at him, and turned to Rubens instead. "He's just mad that I forgot his name. Anyway, there was a ghost…no, a spirit I guess. It said something about…someone doing something to the waterfall."

"That's specific," muttered Elazul, but Rubens frowned and walked over to the pond. He spread his hands in front of him, towards the smaller falls, and seemed to be concentrating. The others gathered around, watching him closely. Ren thought there was something familiar in the look on the red-haired man's face…

"You're a Jumi!" Elazul exclaimed suddenly.

Rubens looked back at him with a puzzled expression. "Yes, I thought you could tell right away."

"I…I think I detected you earlier, but then the wind was interfering with my core."

"A mere wind spirit? Interfering?" Rubens looked surprised. Then his face softened, though now he looked even more puzzled. "You're fairly young, aren't you? Who…" he started, then hesitated, glancing at Ren as if reluctant to continue while she was listening.

Ren glanced at Elazul in turn, who was glaring at Rubens. "Yes, well…at least I'm out _doing_ things, young or not, instead of holed up in that temple hiding from the world! How long have you been in there? If you're a Jumi, why aren't you out helping? Our people are…" he hesitated too, looking at Ren and the priestess.

"By all means, keep shouting," Ren said, making encouraging motions with her hands. "I'm fascinated."

"Our people?" The priestess asked softly from behind Rubens. "So…he's a Jumi too?"

Elazul glanced at her warily. "You have a problem with it?"

"No!" A strange light lit up the priestess' eyes above her veil. "I think that's _wonderful_."

Ren peered at her, she didn't like those eyes. "Elazul! Something's…."

"Oh well." The priestess leapt towards Rubens, arms wrapped around his shoulders, almost as if caressing him, but one hand held a sharp looking knife. "Don't either of you move." Ren froze and saw Elazul do the same.

"What are you doing?" he cried.

"Don't look so anxious, you're next." She tilted her head down next to Rubens' ear. "Goodbye, ruby knight," she purred. Her hands flashed close to his throat and came back holding a red jewel.

"No!" Elazul leapt forward, drawing his sword. The priestess shoved Rubens' collapsing body at him and leapt back as he stumbled to catch it. Ren ran up, drawing her own weapons just as he was easing the dying Jumi to the ground.

"How _could_ you?" she yelled. "What did he _do_ to you?"

"Nothing," the woman said in a light voice. "I've simply been planning this for ages. Ever since I found out he was holed up in the temple here. I had to get him _out_ of the temple, that place is so strongly warded there's no point in trying anything _there_. So I came up here and poisoned the wind spirit…an easy enough task the way spirits are these days…and he came right out like a moth to the flame. Beautiful, if I don't say so myself."

"You…" Elazul stood up and advanced towards her.

"And then," the woman continued, ignoring him. "I was a little frustrated that he decided to bring all this unnecessary help along, but when I found out he was actually providing me with a second core…!" She spun suddenly toward Elazul, who almost didn't get his sword up in time.

"She's fast!" he shouted at Ren, who circled around the woman's back while Elazul grappled with her. Flanked, the fake priestess hissed and leapt away before Ren could close, only to find herself on the edge of the cliff. She shot a disgusted glare at them both.

Ren started to charge forward again, but the woman only laughed and fell backwards off the cliff. As her opponents watched in amazement, her priestess robes fell away and a green parachute of leaves opened gracefully around her. Catching an updraft from the valley below, she was quickly whipped around the side of the mountain and out of sight.

"Damn," Elazul swore, then his eyes widened and he ran quickly back to where Rubens lay.

"Can't we do something?" Ren whispered, kneeling by the dying man's side. Elazul shook his head.

"There's nothing."

"Elazul…" Rubens' voice was faint, but still audible. "Lapis knight, are you not?"

"Yes."

"I…I've failed in my duty as a knight, I abandoned my people, even my own guardian, and came here. I took shelter in the temple, deluded myself into thinking that I was protecting it, that I'd found another cause to fight for… I thought there was no hope for us... but you… you may well be the youngest Jumi left, and you're fighting…"

"Of course," Elazul said simply. "What else is there to do?"

"Roll over and die… that's what they want..." Rubens smiled weakly. "You must stop her… she's…"

"She's what? Rubens?"

The ruby knight shook his head, slowly, and his body began to fade, breaking into particles of blue light and dissipating into the air. Elazul stood staring at the empty space for a moment, then turned and slammed one fist into a scraggly tree with a frustrated yell, leaning against it.

Ren couldn't look at him. She sat staring at the ground. "Rachel was right," she whispered. "People really do…she just…tore it out like it was nothing, and he…he's gone just like that…she was so _fast_, I didn't even have a chance…" She shoved herself to her feet, standing unsteadily, unsure of where to go. "I think I'm going to be sick," she said, and stumbled over to the water's edge.

After a while, her stomach calmed and she looked up, only to find Elazul staring at her. She reached up and wiped at her face, where the ever present mist from the falls was collecting again. "I'm sorry," she said finally. "I couldn't do anything."

"You…?" Elazul shook his head. "It was none of your business to begin with! _I_ should have done something. I should have _noticed_ something! Why are _you_ so broken up about it?"

"_What?_" Ren leapt to her feet. "Rubens was a good person, I could tell! I know we only just met him today, but that's no reason not to _care_. That… that… _murderer_ didn't care. She just waltzed in and _killed_ him, and would have done the same to you, and you're standing there telling me I shouldn't care? What is _wrong_ with you?"

Elazul took a step backwards, looking confused. "That's… it's just that… it's not a good idea for other people to get involved," he finished lamely. "Usually, they don't _want_ to get involved. Nobody wants to fight for a lost cause, except perhaps the cause themselves."

"Maybe you just never bothered to _ask_," Ren snapped, and regretted it immediately. She looked away, out over the valley.

"Why ask, when everyone seems to be an enemy?" Elazul said in a low tone. "You never know who you might be asking."

Ren watched the mists swirl in the valley. For a moment, she thought she saw a strange looking building down there, but it disappeared before she could be sure. "Has it always been like this?" she said finally. "For your people, I mean."

Elazul shrugged. "More or less. No, that's not true. Recently... there have never been many of us, but since I started looking for others, it seems like they've all just dropped off the face of Fa'Diel. I've heard nothing but horror stories…I think it's more than just collectors and people with strange interests this time. I think someone is _actively_ hunting us. Very quickly."

"That person?" Ren waved a hand at the cliff edge.

"Maybe." Elazul shrugged again. "Maybe more than one. I don't know."

They were silent for a moment, then Ren spoke again, hesitantly. "El…" she started. "That is, Elazul! Sorry, sorry…if there's a Jumi hunter in this area, shouldn't we be looking for…"

Elazul nodded, but he didn't explode like she'd half been expecting him to. "I've been trying to sense her but…" He laid a hand over his core. "I can't feel anything. I think this area is too…muddled with Rubens' death."

"Then let's go back to town! We'd better pick up that other priestess too, and tell her…what happened."

Elazul grimaced. "I'm not looking forward to explaining this."


	5. Found and Forgotten

_You know, after reading through a bunch of the fanfic already out there, I realized a lot of the heroine characters have names that start with R. I wonder if it's...some kind of subliminal message released by the game... -edges away from her Playstation- ;)_

* * *

5 – Found and Forgotten

* * *

"Take the left turn up here, it's a shallower descent," the injured priestess said, leaning on Elazul.

"Right," answered Ren, peering cautiously around the bend. The local wildlife was having a field day since the wind stopped and it seemed every time they took a step, something came rocketing out of its nest and tried to eat them. "All clear."

The three made their way slowly down the path, Ren searching for signs of another attack. She was glad, really, for the distraction; it kept her mind off of more disturbing things…like that Jumi-hunter, and Rubens.

The priestess had taken the news surprisingly well, when Elazul had told her what happened. Ren supposed that was what priestesses were trained for, or maybe it was just the veil.

"Turn right here…ah, there we are."

They emerged from a short tunnel onto the main path leading back to Gato proper. Ren gave a sigh of relief and sheathed her swords. The priestess carefully let go of Elazul's supporting arm and tested her weight on her leg. "I think I should be okay from here. I'll go ahead to the temple and tell them what happened." She gave a shallow but steady bow. "I'm very sorry we got you involved."

"We got ourselves involved," Ren said harshly. "We're only sorry we couldn't have been…faster." The priestess bowed again, and began making her way into town. Ren sighed and sat on a rock. "You think she'll be okay on her own?" The Jumi didn't answer. Looking up, she saw he was 'listening' again.

Ren leaned back against the rock and closed her eyes, waiting. No, that wasn't any better, she kept seeing glowing red jewels dripping blood. She sat up again quickly, just in time for Elazul to finish.

"She's still to the north," he said. "I don't understand…she can't be very far from here or I wouldn't sense her at all…but there's nothing else but that waterfall…and we were just there!"

Ren frowned. "What about…" A loud explosion suddenly rang up from the city proper.

"What the…" Elazul turned to look.

"Bud! Lisa!" Ren shot to her feet. "I forgot all about them! They're probably setting the whole town on fire by now!"

"You _forgot_ them?" Elazul looked at her strangely. "Have they been just…running around down there this whole time?"

"I didn't think we'd be gone that long…I thought they'd just do some shopping…"

Elazul shook his head. "Are you really sure you should be taking care of a couple of kids, in your condition? Elf kids no less."

"Elf kids?" Ren glanced up at him.

"Yes, didn't you notice the ears?"

"Well, yes but…"

"Where did they come from?"

"They just showed up in my house one day and…"

"Before that?"

"I don't know…"

"What about their parents?"

"I don't know…"

"Did it even occur to you to _ask_ them?" Elazul's stare had turned to stark disbelief now.

"I…" It hadn't, really. Ren looked at the floor. "I guess not."

"You've set yourself up as their guardian…" he seemed irritated by his choice of words, and changed them. "Their protector. You should _know_ these things."

"Says the person who loses his own charge every couple of days," Ren muttered sulkily. "Who are you to be lecturing me anyway?" She raised her head and glared at him.

Elazul looked taken aback for a second, then his eyes narrowed. "That's not the same at all! Pearl is…well, she's not a child, at least."

"Oh? She doesn't seem so different to me!" Ren snapped back.

"You don't know anything about it!" he hissed.

"Why don't you tell me about it then, since it obviously qualifies you to pass judgment on my ability to take care of others!"

Elazul stood there, visibly angry, then turned on his heel and stalked down the path. "No point," he called back over his shoulder. "You'd only forget."

"Well…fine then!" she yelled at his retreating back, with an astounding lack of maturity that only proved his point, and she knew it. He didn't turn, which was probably for the best; Ren felt like throwing something at him.

Taking a deep breath, then another, she forced herself to calm down. She was just in a bad mood, and the Jumi probably was too, after what had happened. Ren shuddered, and looked around quickly. Elazul had disappeared; the path was empty. She didn't want to be alone right now… she'd go find the kids first, and think about the possibility of apologizing to people later. Nodding to herself, she took the path at a run.

She hadn't gone far before she found the source of the explosion. Smoke was rising up from a hole in the roof of one of the mushroom houses, and standing around outside were Bud, Lisa, an irritated looking Gato resident, and a temple priestess.

"It wasn't supposed to explode, honest!" Ren could hear Bud explaining as she ran up. "We've done it before…"

"But that was with dried greenballs," Lisa argued. "These were fresh. I _told_ you we shouldn't do it with fresh ones!"

"What have you two been _doing_?" Ren cried.

"Ahhh! Ren! Where did you go?" Bud exclaimed. "Lisa and I were just making a scrying spell to look for you!"

"Are they yours?" The infuriated Gato man asked, turning on Ren. "They just barged into my shop, grabbed some stuff saying it was an emergency and then proceeded to blow a hole in my roof!"

"Er, yes, they're with me, I'm sorry…"

"Sorry you should be!" snapped the priestess, who by her voice wasn't the one from the path, though Ren thought they all looked the same. The fact that none of them seemed to have names didn't help. "Running off and leaving two children by themselves! Something could have happened to them!"

"I'm sorry… they're more likely to happen to someone else really…"

"Yes, I noticed, look at my shop!" The man snapped.

"I'm sorry! I'll make sure they don't do it again, I'm sorry…" Ren's head was starting to hurt, a faint throbbing behind her eyes; she raised a hand to her temples.

"Hey, are you all right?" The priestess was beside her in an instant. Before Ren could respond, great bass notes began to ring high above the town, causing everyone to look up. The temple bells were tolling Rubens' death.

"I'm sorry," Ren said again, but for an entirely different reason this time. "I'm so sorry…" The bells were striking in time with the pain in her head, growing in intensity. She felt her legs growing weak under her and sank to the street. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

* * *

Ren woke up in a small room, on a rather flat bed with one blanket. She sat up cautiously, but her headache seemed to be gone. "Well, I feel like an idiot," she said to the window next to her. "Did I just…fall over for no reason?" The window failed to answer. With a sigh, Ren reached out and pushed the shutters open. Outside, the late afternoon sun was casting long shadows across the mountain. The window faced north, and below her stretched the mist-shrouded valley she'd seen from the top of the mountain.

As she watched, the mists swirled invitingly, seeming to beckon. She leaned forward, trying to see past that white curtain, but nothing was visible. Hadn't there been a building?

Suddenly her view was obscured by something green and flailing. She shrieked and fell back on the bed, just in time for Viridian to pounce on top of her.

"Argh, off!" she yelled, shoving the dragon onto the floor. "You're getting much too heavy for that!"

With a leap and a twist in midair, he slid out the window again, just as the door to the room burst open with a bang and a priestess rushed in. "There's been some crazy green monster flying around the towers trying to tear open windows!" she said hurriedly. "Someone said she saw it head this way…" The priestess stopped, staring at the dragon hovering outside.

"Ah." Ren smiled helpfully. "He's with me."

The priestess sagged against the doorway for a moment, then recovered and stepped into the room. "We thought it might be after the eternal flame."

"No." Ren watched the dragon thoughtfully. "He makes his own. Anyway, he's harmless."

"I guess… 'he' did you say?…was just looking for you. That's a relief." She held out a hand to Viridian, but the dragon gave a snort and soared out over the valley.

"Not terribly sociable though," Ren apologized. "We're working on that. Can I ask you a question?"

"Mm." The priestess watched the dragon fly away, perhaps a little disappointed. "We brought you here earlier, when you collapsed in the street…you haven't been out that long. The children are downstairs, they won't stop asking questions about our magic and the flames. They're awfully energetic, aren't they?"

"Er…yes…" Ren wondered if the woman was actually listening to her. "But that wasn't what I wanted to ask."

"It wasn't?" The priestess looked surprised.

"No. What's out there?" Ren pointed out the window.

"Oh, that. It's called Leires… when the eternal flame burns bright, it illuminates the valley below, dispelling the mist as far as the tower. But since we've had to keep it boarded up, the valley has become nearly impassable. The mist isn't natural… any incautious traveler that wanders in will become lost, wandering the valley forever."

"An incautious traveler…" Ren stared out at the mists. "Oh dear."

"What is it?" The priestess asked, sounding concerned.

"I think someone I know might have wandered in there." Ren turned away from the window and, grabbing her sword belt from the table next to the bed, headed for the door. "Two someones by now, if I read them right."

"You can't go into the mists!" The priestess objected, trailing her down the stairs. "Following them will only get you lost as well!"

Ren picked up her pace. "I have to! The person who attacked us, who killed Rubens… she might be after those people. I have to," she repeated, not quite knowing why. It wasn't just the Jumi…there was something else. Something pulling at her mind.

"What about the children?" The priestess almost yelled, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. Ren hesitated.

"I…I don't know. I…"

"You don't know? They're your children!"

Ren turned back, eyes wide. "They aren't! They're my er, apprentices. Sort of. I took them in, maybe a month ago…"

"And now you're going to run off into the valley to get lost, after some murderer no less, and _leave_ them here? Alone?"

"They're not alone! You're here, aren't you? Can't you guys watch them for a little bit? It's very important that I go there…"

The other woman considered Ren for a moment. "You're a nice person, I think. We all heard how you stilled the winds and tried to help Rubens…perhaps you should concentrate on doing things like that, and avoid involving a couple of children into it. That's all I'm saying."

"What else can I do? I promised them…"

"They could stay here," the priestess said carefully. "Permanently. They seem to like it already, and they could learn so much. We'd take care of them, they wouldn't be the first children we'd ever had here."

Ren looked at the floor. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "But I have to go… something is calling me. You're right…I might be insane. I might not come back. But I have to go!" Spinning around again, she ran down the hall and didn't slow until she'd left the temple behind.

Racing down the streets, she tried not to think about anything but the urge to move forward. What was it? It was easy enough to say something was calling her, but what? _Something was calling me…but it stopped…_who had said that? It was familiar…she thought hard as she approached the valley, but couldn't put a face to the voice.

Ren drew to a halt at the edge of the mist, close enough to feel the droplets against her skin, but not enough that the way back was obscured. She paced back and forth along the line, hesitating. The feeling of needing to go forward was still there, but it wasn't enough to give her a good sense of direction. "Should I go in, and hope it gets better the closer I get to whatever it is?" she asked the mist. It swirled silently.

Ren sighed. "Why do I persist in talking to things? Maybe I really am insane."

"_Insane,_" agreed a whistling voice from overheard. Ren looked up as Viridian circled down to meet her.

"Well hello again," she said. "Did you get tired of besieging the temple?"

The dragon looked at one claw with interest. "_Found_," he said.

"What?" Ren focused her attention more fully on the creature.

"_You,_" he concluded.

"Ah." Ren sighed. "Anyway, I need to go in the mist." She waved at the obscuring cloud. "So why don't you go back to the temple? Okay?" The dragon looked blankly at her. "Viri? Temple? Go to Bud and Lisa."

"_Mist?_" Apparently he hadn't been listening past the first sentence.

"Yes, the mist! I need to go there, so you go back." Ren tried to get her point across with vigorous arm motions, but it was like giving orders to a wall.

"_Mist?_" Viridian repeated, and slithered forward, disappearing quickly in the fog, leaving Ren staring after him in shocked silence. Just before she could panic and call his name, the dragon reappeared, looking confused. "_Mist?_"

"Yes! Mist! What is wrong with…" she paused, he had found his way back just fine. "Can't you…can't you see it?"

"_What?_" he asked simply.

Ren stared into the mist for a minute. "Viri, can you see a tower in there? A house?"

The dragon looked off into the distance. "_House,_" he said. "_Tall._"

"Tall is fine," Ren assured him, laying a hand on his head. "Take me there."

* * *

Following the little dragon proved harder than it looked, since Viridian had a tendency to move faster than her. Often she had to stand stock still in the mist and yell for him to come back for minutes on end. "Viridian!" she shouted for the hundredth time. "Get back here this _instant_!"

"_Pretty…_" the dragon's voice floated back to her from not far away

"What is it? Go away! Leave me alone!" A girl's voice. Ren took a chance and plunged in the direction it had come from, only to nearly run headlong into a set of bars that rose up out of the fog. Moving quickly along the fence's length, she found Viridian again, peering intently at a huddled figure clinging to a gate-post.

"Pearl?" Ren called, surprised.

The girl looked up. "Who is it?" Then she gave an unhappy cry and clung tighter to the gate as Viridian floated up in front of her face.

"Viri! Stop it!" Ren closed the distance between them and dragged the dragon backwards. He gave her a disgusted look.

"_Welcome,_" he said, and started to clean his claws.

"Yes, yes, thank you. You were very helpful. I'll make you an omelet or something when we get home." The dragon continued to wash, uninterested. Ren sighed and turned back to Pearl. "It's okay, he's harmless, really."

Pearl looked up, cautiously. "Ren? You're Ren, right? From the cave?"

Ren nodded. "Yes…what are you doing here?"

The Jumi girl looked back at the gate post. "I…I don't know. Something was calling me…" Ren almost jumped at that. "…and I started walking. When I finally noticed where I was going, I was in all this mist. I ran and ran forever, it felt like forever… I thought I'd never get out. Then I found this place, and I've been too frightened to let go."

"Elazul was looking for you! He was really worried, especially since…" Ren hesitated. "Some things happened in the city. It's not safe for you to be alone."

Pearl looked embarrassed. "Oh he's going to be so _angry_ at me…where is he?"

Ren shook her head. "I don't know…he went off to find you. I think he may have come in here, but obviously he didn't make it this far." She stared back out into the mist, wondering if the Jumi-hunter had landed in it somewhere.

"Oh no…" Pearl looked distraught.

"Ahh! I didn't mean it like that!" Ren waved her hands quickly. No point in worrying Pearl with possibilities; she looked terrified enough as it was. "I'm sure he's fine, he can take care of himself, yes?" The other girl nodded slowly. "He probably just got lost…I know!" She spun around. "Viridian!" The dragon startled and almost fell over at being addressed so quickly. "Find Elazul! The blue-eyed one with the cape," she explained.

"_El…?_" he queried.

"Yes, El, fine, go find him." Ren made shooing motions. Viridian hovered a moment, then zipped off, disappearing into the mist.

"El?" Pearl asked. Ren turned to her with a shrug.

"Some names are just too complicated for him, you know?"

Pearl looked thoughtful. "What should we do now?" Her eyes drifted towards the gate. "Should we…wait for Elazul? Or go inside?"

Ren looked in the same direction. "Inside?"

"There's a building over there, I saw it earlier," Pearl explained. "I think I wanted to go inside…but then I was too scared…but if you come with me…"

"It might be safer. I didn't run into anything out there in the mist, but…no reason to tempt fate. Come on, El's smart enough to figure out where we went. I think." Pearl almost laughed at that, and Ren smiled at her. "That's better! Don't worry so much! I'll keep you safe."

A few quick steps through the open gate brought them to a pair of massive doors, covered in intricate carvings and metal fittings. Ren knocked on one, but it was too thick to make much sound. "I really doubt anyone lives here…" She threw her weight against the door and shoved. It didn't budge. "I guess it's locked."

Pearl moved to stand next to her. "What if…" Before the Jumi girl could speculate, the doors began to move, swinging open silently. The two visitors glanced at each other.

"Let's go," Ren said, and they stepped inside. The entrance hall was dark, not much of an improvement over the mist outside. In fact it was worse. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all…"

The doors slammed shut behind them. Pearl grabbed Ren's arm, just as the lights came on overhead, blinding her. A cacophony of shrieks assaulted her ears and what felt like hundreds of small claws plucked at her skin. Desperate for a respite from this attack on all senses, Ren grabbed the other girl and dove for cover, any cover.

They ended up crouched under what turned out to be stairs, as Ren found when her eyes worked properly again. " 'Let's go inside'," she muttered. "Me and my brilliant ideas." Peering around the edge of the stairs, she could see a cloud of huge bats milling around the room. It was a large room, with crystalline chandeliers hanging overhead, responsible for her previous blindness and the bats' confusion. "Why don't they fly out a window or something? I mean, they must have gotten in from somewhere."

"Maybe they're here to defend this place?" Pearl suggested.

"Maybe they're just stupid." Ren liked her idea better. "Which will make this easier." She looked carefully up and down the walls of the room, then followed the path of the staircase with her eyes.

"Where are you going?" Pearl clung to Ren's arm as she started to leave their alcove.

"Going to make a path! You don't want to sit under here until Elazul comes to save us, do you? How embarrassing would that be?"

"It's worked for me before…" Pearl started, but Ren cut her off.

"Just stay here then. I'll be right back."

She edged carefully around the stairs, then ran up them three steps at a time, until she reached a small landing. The tattered remains of a once artistic curtain completely failed to hide the heavy rope knotted around a thick hook protruding from the wall. Ren grinned and drew her sword. A couple of swings severed the rope, and a loud crash from behind signaled that it had indeed been the anchor point for one of the chandeliers.

Ren leaned over the railing in time to see a large circle of death and destruction wrought by the falling light source, and a number of angry leftovers rising towards her. "Oops," she said to them, and drew her other sword.

Fending off the remaining bats was easy enough, most of them being already injured by flying chandelier debris. As the last one fell, Ren hurried back to Pearl. "All gone," she said, peering under the stairs. "You can come out now."

Pearl emerged, staring at the wreckage. "How did you do that?"

"Weren't you watching?" Ren was a little disappointed. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. What now?"

The Jumi girl circled the room, giving the fallen chandelier and dead bats a wide berth. "I want to go… up there…" she said, pointing to the staircase.

Ren followed the other girl's gaze. With the bats gone and the room quiet as it was, she could feel it again, a slight pulling at her mind. It was almost a voice, as if something was trying to talk to her from behind a closed door. "All right," she said. "Let's go up."

They took the stairs cautiously, but no more bats descended from the ceiling. The second floor was mostly intact, but the fourth floor had pretty much collapsed onto the third, making it impassable. A little bit of switching between the staircases got them past the mess, but Ren had to stop and wonder about the intelligence of continuing.

"It's only going to get more shaky as we go," she said, peering up through a hole leading to the sixth floor. "And we don't know how far up it goes. Maybe we should forget it."

Even as the words passed her lips, the voice in her mind let out a wail, almost understandable now. Ren pressed fingers to her temples. "Okay, okay…" She looked up again, just in time to see Pearl start clambering up the wreckage to the next floor. "Hey! Wait, I'm coming!"

Pulling herself up after the other girl, Ren grabbed her by the sleeve. "Not so fast!"

Pearl turned to look at her, then her eyes widened. "Behind you!"

Ren spun around, just in time to grab her sword from its sheath and block an incoming axe. Shoving the axe away and backing up, she could see its wielder, a suit of armor. An empty suit of armor. "Um…so…how does it move?" The armor didn't seem to want to explain, and raised its axe again. "Well, fine." Ren stepped forward and engaged the suit in a brief flurry of blows that ended with bits of armor strewn all over the floor.

"Is it going to…put itself back together or something?" Pearl asked, prodding the helmet worriedly.

"I hope not, because here come some more of them." Ren pointed over Pearl's shoulder with her sword.

* * *

Five suits of armor, twelve skeletons, a curiously tangible ghost and eighteen zombies later, Ren was sick of walking dead things. She was also sick of pitfalls, broken stairs, walls falling down and holes in the ceiling. "I hate this place," she said, leaning against the wall.

"How far up are we?" asked Pearl.

"Who knows? Ten, eleven stories? With all that backtracking, we could be on the twentieth, or back on the third for all I know."

"Oh." Pearl stood in the middle of the hallway, looking like she was practicing Elazul's listening trick.

"Hear anything?" Ren asked, after a bit.

Pearl opened her eyes. "That door…" She pointed at the wall Ren was leaning on.

"Huh?" Ren stepped away from the wall and looked at it. It was a door after all…just a very big one. "Looks pretty heavy, how does it open, do you think?"

Pearl wandered over to her. "I don't know, but I think we need to go…" She put a hand out to the door, and was greeted by a loud groan from the hinges as the portal swung open.

Ren looked at her thoughtfully. "Well, either this place was built for you, or you'd make a really good thief."

Pearl didn't answer, she just walked into the room. Ren shrugged and followed her.


	6. Crystal Mirror

* * *

6 – Crystal Mirror

* * *

The minute Ren passed the threshold, the voice returned in her head, but fully audible now. It wasn't wailing at all, it was singing, ever so slightly off-key.

_This mirror crafted, chained by fate…_

_Break the binding, open the gate…_

_The past, the future, all can see…_

_But trapped within, an unheard plea…_

_Set me free…_

Ren looked carefully around the room. A huge throne dominated one wall, possibly once upholstered, but now bare and dejected looking. There was nothing else, except a strange looking pedestal in the middle of the room. It had a largish basin on top, but it was covered with a thick wooden board, held down by what seemed to be solid gold chains. Pearl was standing by the pedestal, running her fingers along the chains.

_Set me free…_

"Okay, I hear you." Ren peered at the chains. Gripping her sword, she took a swing at one. It bit deeply. "Gold is a really stupid metal to use for this sort of thing," she said, circling the pedestal and removing chains as she went. Pearl just nodded mutely, staring at the basin.

Finishing with the chains, Ren put her shoulder under the wood and shoved, sending it to the floor with a clatter. Underneath, the basin was filled to the brim with what looked like water. Reaching out to it, Ren's fingers encountered a smooth, unyielding surface. "It's like some kind of glass…"

_…or a mirror_, said the sing-song voice. _I can't think of a rhyme for that, though._

Above the crystal, a spirit was forming. It was vaguely feminine, peering out from a circle of muted gold. _Finally! I've had nothing to do all this time except sit and make up stupid rhymes! Take me out of here!_

"Wait!" Ren called as the spirit started to fade. "You seem more talkative than the others, can't you tell me what's going on?"

_You don't know? You're so funny! I'll have to work that into a poem somewhere. Bye!_

"_Please!_" Ren yelled at the crystal, then turned away and kicked the base of the throne a few times. "Pearl! Tell me you heard that!" There was no answer. Ren turned, frowning.

Pearl was standing in front of the basin, a strange white light glowing around her. As Ren watched, the light began to darken in hue, pulsing back and forth like warped firefly. Suddenly, the Jumi girl screamed, holding her head in her hands. "No! I don't want…I don't want to…Elazul! Elazul, help me!"

Ren slid between Pearl and the mirror and shoved her away. The smaller girl was thrown forward, and Ren stumbled backwards, grabbing the rim of the basin for balance.

A blinding golden light flashed…

_…the sun was in her eyes. Lying back against the trunk of the great tree, it had been shady a moment before, but now bright beams of light rained down between the leaves, each trying its hardest to blind her. Had she fallen asleep?_

_"You cannot stay here all day, my child," a voice said from somewhere above her, but she was too comfortable to look towards it. "I would love to have you here at my side always, but the darkness is coming closer. It must be turned."_

_"I am going, just…five more minutes…"_

"No,"_ a different voice was heard, and a deep green ripple in the foliage that she had taken for a thick vine resolved itself into Viridian. _"We must go quickly, and halt the attack before it reaches the village. Come."

_"Oh, Viri…I know…" The young woman stood, taking up her sword belt from where it had lain beside her. She buckled it on, then paused, leaning her forehead against the tree for a moment longer. "Goodbye, mother, I will return soon."_

_"Go with my heart, child."_

_The girl nodded and vaulted to the back of the great green dragon as he pushed off from the branches and spiraled outward, towards the encroaching battle. Just as they reached it, a flash of light shot towards them from the darkness…_

…and Ren flung herself away from the basin, tripping over something lying in front of her and falling to the stone floor. "What was that?" she asked, then noticed who she'd tripped over. "Pearl! I'm sorry!" Pulling the girl's unconscious form towards her, she knelt by her side. "Are you all right?" Pearl's eyelids fluttered, and she seemed about to speak when the door slammed open with a crash.

"Get away from her!" Elazul burst in, sword in hand. "If you've done anything to Pearl, I'll kill…you…" he stopped, looking down the length of the blade at Ren. "Oh," he said.

"Put that thing away," she hissed at him. "What are you, insane?"

Elazul took a step back, lowering his sword but not sheathing it. He scanned the rest of the room. "I felt a…disturbance from Pearl's core, I thought something must have happened to her."

"Something did happen to her, but I didn't do it!" Ren snapped. "I think she's okay now though…" She helped Pearl to sit up, carefully. Once again the Jumi girl started to speak, but was cut off by a loud cry as Viridian swooped in the door, darting over and hovering in front of Elazul.

"_Idiot!_" he hissed, loudly.

"Don't yell at me," Elazul responded. "You're the one who can fly, there's no excuse for not being able to keep up."

"_Stupid!_" Viridian shot away from the Jumi and landed on the mirror basin, sulking. Elazul glared after him, then turned it on Ren instead.

"What are you two doing all the way up here, anyway?"

"Something was calling me," Ren explained, just as Pearl said the exact same thing. The two looked at each other.

Elazul stared at them, then slapped a hand to his forehead. "Great. I must be cursed," he sighed.

Ren started to retort to that, but Pearl jumped in quickly. "Are you all right? You look a little…"

"I'm fine." Elazul waved her off. "I just spent hours searching through that mist out there, which, by the way, is full of hidden ditches and things which I would not advise running blindly into…before that dragon swooped down on my head. He led me here, and after that it was no problem. I just followed the path of the Unintentional Hurricane over there."

"Are you talking about me?" Ren glared at him.

"I seem to recall…'Did I do all that?'," he mimicked her voice. "Back at the Domina caverns, and the mess you left in your wake here doesn't look much better than it did then. Did you crash that chandelier all over the floor back there?"

"El, be nice…" Pearl cautioned, hesitantly. "I never would have made it here without her…"

"_El?_" Elazul's glare swung back to Ren. "You didn't."

"Didn't what?" said Ren brightly.

"You don't like it?" Pearl looked stricken. "I'm sorry, I thought…"

Elazul had obviously been about to say something, but he closed his mouth quickly, glancing at Pearl. "Er…well…that is…" he sighed again. "Never mind. Let's just get out of here." He held out a hand to Pearl, helping her up.

Ren stood on her own, brushing off her clothes. "That sounds like a good idea, this place gives me the creeps. Come on, Viri." She turned to the dragon, who was staring intently into the mirror. "Viri?" She reached out and poked him on the flank…

_…and they were falling, plummeting like a stone. She clung to the pale fur on the dragon's back, hands clenched tight as if she could halt his descent. "Viridian!" she screamed, but there was no response. Overhead, mad laughter sounded, deep and high at the same time, echoing on level after level as they fell._

_As the last moment Viridian writhed, slowing their descent, but they still hit the ground with a sickening crack. Groaning, his rider rolled over, sliding off his back to the forest floor. "Viridian?" she whispered. "Viri? Answer me…" _

_Crawling around to the dragon's head, she peered into his eyes. His mouth opened, but only a dry hissing came out, followed by one strangled word. _"…run…"

_"Viri?" The girl tried to coax life back into the now dim eyes, but nothing flickered. "No…no!" She reached behind her and pulled a sword free of its sheath. The blade gleamed faintly in the twilight. "I won't let this happen. Mother, help me…" She gripped the hilt tightly between her hands, holding it high before slamming it into the ground by the dragon's body._

_The sword flashed, sending a beam of light straight into the heavens. If the enemy didn't know she was here before, they did now. After a moment, the light diminished, narrowing until it formed a line, then a short pillar, then a sphere. When it disappeared completely, the body was gone; where it had lain, a deep green egg lay nestled among the leaves._

_The girl picked up the egg, cradling it in her arms. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" she whispered, then looked up suddenly. "They're coming." Spinning around wildly, she spotted a small pile of rocks, from which a trickle of water was flowing._

_"Undine, Undine," she called, crouching by the stream. "Please help me." Just under the surface of the water, a figure began to form. Watery blue arms reached up and took hold of the egg. "Keep him safe for me…just a little while."_

I will. Until you return.

_A twig snapped loudly nearby. The young woman turned, snatching up one sword and drawing the other as the darkness closed in…_

"_Ren! Ren! Ren! Ren!_" the high pitched wailing was right in her ear.

"Viri! Shut _up!_" Ren groaned and opened her eyes. Raising her hand, she found moisture on her cheeks. "Was I crying?" She put her hand down and felt the stones beneath her. She was on the floor again. "What the heck?"

"You went over to get the dragon and just…fell over," Pearl explained, leaning over her. "Then you just sort of curled up and...are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ren sat up, slowly. "I seem to be falling down a lot lately. It must be this stupid city. I was fine before we came here. Right, El?" she turned, looking for the other Jumi, and spied him over by the mirror, one hand resting on the edge as he stared into the depths. "El?" Ren stood up and walked over. "Okay, I'm sorry, I won't call you that anymore…" She reached out to touch his shoulder, but he straightened before she could connect.

Ren backed up quickly as he nearly spun into her. "What do you want?" he snapped. "Don't _crowd_ people!"

"What are you yelling at me for!" she yelled back.

Elazul blinked, then looked at the pedestal, and back at Ren, who sighed. "Okay, everyone just _step away_ from that thing." She bent over and heaved the wooden board up off the floor. Slamming it down over the crystal, she leaned on it for a moment, breathing heavily. Then she stepped back, nearly tripping over Viridian, who was pressed against her knees.

"I don't know what you saw, or what you saw..." She pointed at each Jumi in turn. "But neither of you seemed to like it very much. I don't even know what I saw, but I…" She looked down at the little dragon, who was whining fitfully. "I think we should leave now."

Elazul stared at her as Pearl moved to stand next to him. The silence stretched out uncomfortably. "Please?" Ren asked, finally.

"Yes," Elazul turned suddenly. "Let's."

* * *

The trio made their way down the tower in a gloomy sort of mood. Even if the pitfalls and pathfinding had left them much room for conversation, no one seemed to feel like filling it. Only when they reached the bottom and stood tiredly in front of the building did someone finally break the silence.

"Thank you," Elazul said, turning abruptly at the gate.

Ren blinked. "Wait, wait…say that again?"

Elazul glared at her. "No."

"I almost thought I heard you say 'thank you'."

The Jumi rolled his eyes. "Why did I bother? No, don't say anything else for a minute. I want…" He caught Ren's gaze, which was wandering out over the mists. "Pay attention, would you? I want to thank you for everything you've done. For finding Pearl, both times, and for helping us. However, I think it would be best if you…"

"Ah, there you are."

Three swords sprang from their sheaths in response. Emerging from the mists was a slender figure, dressed in bright colors. Only the eyes were the same as the veiled priestess who'd attacked Rubens, but they were enough.

"You!" Elazul sprang backwards to stand next to Ren, who'd stepped in front of Pearl.

"Yes, I," said the woman, still approaching. "How very observant."

"Who is she?" Pearl asked from behind. The Jumi-hunter stopped, staring between the two defenders at the girl.

"Well, well, this must be the new Jumi country. You're showing up like flies. My name is Sandra, dear, jewel hunter extraordinaire." Her eyes narrowed as she looked closer. "And you are a pearl, a shining pearl…" She leapt back lightly as Elazul's sword cut through the air where she'd been.

"Don't even look at her!" he shouted, pressing the attack. Ren started to move to help, then glanced at Pearl and stayed where she was.

"Are you the pearl's knight, boy?" Sandra asked, evading Elazul's attacks with ease. "Such a pretty guardian you have." She laughed. "Though, you're not bad to look at yourself. What a lovely pair you'd make. Set in a necklace perhaps."

"Shut up!" Elazul hissed. The hunter circled him quickly and he nearly lost her, spinning to track her movements. She feinted suddenly and her knife swept in a hairsbreadth from his side. As he dodged, Sandra took the opening and ran towards Pearl.

Ren shoved the other girl back and stepped forward, swords raised. Beside her, Viridian hissed and spouted a small but hot-looking flame. Sandra hesitated. "And what are you again? The knight's knight? Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not a good idea to get involved with Jumi?"

"If they did, I probably wouldn't care," Ren snapped. "Especially not if it's coming from you!" She shifted her balance to block Sandra's attack, but the woman's speech had cost her, and she dove out of the way again as Elazul charged.

Retreating back to the gate, Sandra snickered softly. "All right, you've made your point. You'll defend your guardian to the death." Just at the edge of visibility, she paused. "But let me ask you this, Jumi knight. If you died protecting her, would she cry for you?" The hazy figure disappeared, the mist closing behind her like a shroud. Elazul started to go after her, but a beam of light shone down, slicing through the cloud like a blade, blinding the three at the gate.

Holding a hand up to shield her face, Ren traced the path of the light with her eyes; it was coming from the temple. The eternal flame was shining again, and the mist parted before it, a clear path from Gato to the tower. There was no sign of Sandra anywhere.

Elazul lowered his sword slowly, scanning the area, but nothing moved except stray strands of fog, fleeing the flame. He stood there for a long time, shaking a bit. With rage, Ren assumed; she had trouble believing it could be fear. Sheathing her own weapons, she noticed her own hands were none too steady. Fear?

Maybe. Brushing it aside, she stepped forward and laid a hand on Elazul's arm. "Hey," she said, then jerked her hand back quickly, remembering his penchant for swinging blindly when startled.

Elazul did jump slightly, but all he did was shove his sword back into its sheath with more than necessary force. "She was just playing with us, damn her."

"Maybe," Ren temporized. "Let's just get out of here before she comes back."

The Jumi nodded, and turned back. "Pearl?" he called.

His ward emerged from the shadows of the door, hesitantly. "Elazul," she said. "What was that all about?"

"You heard her, a jewel-hunter, after our cores. Don't worry about it, she's gone."

"That's not what I meant." Pearl looked at the ground. "What she said about…if you died…"

Elazul shot a glance at Ren, then looked back at Pearl. "She was just trying to rile us up, you shouldn't pay attention to things like that."

Pearl nodded, but she didn't look up. Then she shook her head violently. "No! I have to pay attention! Because, if you died…even if you died…I _couldn't cry!_" Shoving Elazul aside, she started running headlong towards Gato.

"Oh, hey, now _that's_ a really bad idea," Ren took off after the retreating girl. "Elazul!" she called back over her shoulder. "You owe me another explanation!"

* * *

The diminutive Jumi finally ran out of steam as she reached the city gates. "Dammit, Pearl," Elazul panted as he and Ren caught up. "Are you _trying_ to kill me? We get attacked by a hunter and then you just _run off?_"

Pearl turned slowly, looking utterly miserable as she struggled to catch her breath enough to speak. Ren put an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, hey, take it easy, it's all right. Breathe. You too," she said to Elazul, who was leaning against the wall by the gate. "Count to ten or something." He waved an irritated hand at her, but seemed to be taking her advice anyway.

Ren waited until her own heartbeat returned to normal, watching Viridian cut figure eights in the darkened sky. "Okay. Explanation?"

The Jumi looked at each other. Elazul shook his head, but Pearl ignored him and turned to Ren. "I'm a guardian, and Elazul is my knight…it's his duty to protect me, and if he's injured, it should be my duty to heal him…with my tears. But I can't cry. Not even a single drop."

Elazul sighed. "If you insist on explaining, you should tell it right. It's not just Pearl. None of the Jumi now can cry," he said, stepping away from the wall and heading into the city. Ren and Pearl followed, with the dragon coasting overhead.

"A long time ago… all the Jumi could shed tears of life. They could heal any injury, even bring back the dead, or so the mythology goes. The guardians would go out on the battlefield, aiding the wounded, and the knights would protect them.

"But that ability…degenerated over time, and now only one Jumi remains with the power to heal; the guardian known as the Clarius."

"Clarius?" Ren asked as they turned onto the main street. It was getting pretty late, and no one seemed to be around. She found herself peering intently at shadows; this whole Jumi-hunter thing was making her paranoid.

"Yes… the brightest stone among us. The most recent Clarius was Florina…but she disappeared. So now we're powerless, in that regard. Wounds to a Jumi's core are impossible to heal, and the core removed is just a rock, without the tears of another Jumi to revive it. I think that's why hunters like that woman are becoming more frequent. At least…it seems to have happened more often since Florina disappeared. It's as if they sense weakness." Elazul kicked at a stone in the street, and fell silent.

Ren waited a suitable amount of time, then pressed on. "So, that Sandra was pretty much just rubbing dirt in your faces?"

"Ha." Elazul looked over at her. "An apt choice of words. Yes, she was just messing with us." He turned to Pearl. "Which is why I told you not to worry about it in the first place."

"I'm sorry." Pearl hung her head. "I just…I wish…you're always protecting me. I just wish I could do something in return. I'm so useless."

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not protecting you because I want something in return!" Elazul threw up his hands in frustration.

"But…" Pearl started to protest again, but Ren started to laugh, halting her.

"What's so funny?" Elazul snapped.

"You! That was a ridiculously nice thing to say."

"I fail to see why that makes it funny."

"No, it's not that, I just think it's kind of…" Ren stopped. They'd reached the crossroads leading to the temple. She gazed up the street towards the far-off building.

"Ren?" Elazul turned back when she stopped following.

"Bud and Lisa…" she said softly.

Pearl tilted her head. "Who?"

"Her elven terrorist foundlings," Elazul explained helpfully. "She seems to have forgotten them again."

Ren thought about glaring at him, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. Instead, she continued to stare at the temple, wrestling with herself. The priestess had been right, really. She wasn't in the best of shape for taking care of children right now. Not to mention, she'd pretty much made up her mind that she wanted to help the two Jumi with their problems, and that was shaping up to be dangerous.

She glanced back at Elazul and Pearl, who were watching her quizzically. "Nevermind," she said suddenly, turning away from the temple.

Elazul blinked. "Are you…leaving them here?"

"Yes, it's better for them." Ren glared at him, daring him to say 'I told you so'. He didn't.

"Are you sure?" he asked instead.

Ren looked down at the ground quickly, unable to answer for a moment. "I…might be insane, you know? I forget things, not just little things, important things…I even forgot them. What if next time, I forget them somewhere more dangerous than Gato?" The priestess' angry tirade echoed in her mind. "The temple keepers can take care of them, they said they would. They'll be better at it and the twins will probably enjoy it more anyway. They wanted to learn magic and such, and I don't know any…" She was babbling and she knew it. Cutting off her words, she started walking instead.

The Jumi followed her, and they continued towards the south gate in silence. A few clouds and a small green dragon took turns passing in front of the moon and casting disturbing shadows across the ground, but nothing halted their journey. As they passed through the gate and started down the mountain path, Ren thought of something. "Elazul!"

"Hm?"

"You were going to tell me something! Before we got attacked back there."

"Was I?" He looked thoughtful. "You know, I think I've forgotten." Pearl shot a sidelong glance at him, which Ren didn't miss.

"Oh no you don't, that's _my_ excuse. What were you saying?"

An explosion of twigs and leaves from beside the road interrupted before he could answer. "_Ren!_" The startled trio turned as Bud and Lisa ran out from behind the bushes.

Ren stared at them. "What are you _doing_ here? I thought you were at the temple!"

"We ran away!" Bud said firmly. "They wanted us to stay there _forever_. They said you were going to _leave_ us!"

"How _could_ you!" Lisa stamped her foot. "How could you try to leave us behind!"

Ren took a step backward, glancing around for backup, but Elazul just gave a 'this is your problem' sort of shrug and leaned against a rock to wait, while Pearl had one hand over her mouth like she was trying not to laugh. Ren glared at them both, then tried to explain to the twins. "I thought it would be better for you there. You could learn some new magic and the priestesses seemed to really like you…"

"_Better_ for us? We don't want to stay with a bunch of stuffy priestesses, in that boring temple with nothing but never-ending flames and old scrolls!" Lisa ignored the fact that she had been dying to see the same 'boring temple' not long before. "We want to stay with you!"

Ren held her hands up in front of her, trying to fend off the girl's strident voice. "But I'm not very good at…"

"At what? Taking care of us? Ha," Bud scoffed. "No one's good at taking care of us! We can take care of ourselves! We've been taking care of ourselves for a while now!"

"Ever since…ever since…" Lisa hesitated, glancing at Bud, who nodded. "Ever since our parents died. Ever since we, um, left the Academy, we've been on our own. We're older than we look, you know! We can survive on our own, it's just…we don't want to stay with you because we need someone to take care of us! We want to stay with you because we like you!" She looked down, embarrassed.

"We're magicians after all!" Bud continued. "We could take over the world if we wanted, but we don't want to," he added quickly. "We just want a nice place to practice magic like, you know, a treehouse, and…maybe someone to, to…watch us when we do something cool, and you know…" He looked at the ground too. "Take us on field trips. Or something."

Ren felt horrible now. "I'm sorry…I'd love for you to keep staying with me but…"

"But?" Bud looked up again, fire in his eyes. "If you say no, we're going to run again. We're not going to stay in the temple. We'll…we'll…head off into the forest and probably get eaten by wild animals!"

"You just told me you could take care of yourselves!"

"Yes, but we'd be so unhappy, we probably wouldn't be looking where we were going!" Bud finished triumphantly.

"Really, I think they have you there," Elazul spoke up finally. Ren turned on him.

"Didn't you tell me I wasn't fit to take them on, not that long ago?"

"And I believe you told me I wasn't one to talk."

Pearl giggled, but stifled it quickly. "You should keep them near you, Ren," she said softly, but seriously. "They really do like you." She leaned closer, so the twins couldn't hear. "They talk tough, but I think they really need someone. Someone who really cares for them, but who also can accept them for who and what they are. I can understand that, I think." The light-haired Jumi stepped back, blushing. "Besides," she said. "You're too nice to send them back now."

"I believe the term is 'sucker'," Ren said with a sigh. "I think a rabbit once told me that."

Elazul snorted. "Perceptive bunny."

"Oh, no one asked you." Ren turned away from him and back to Bud and Lisa, who looked up at her hopefully.

"All right, you can stay," she said.

"Yay!" The twins cried in deafening chorus.

"Ow." Ren put her hands over her ears. "But you have to promise not to blow anything else up!"


	7. Spirited Search

* * *

7 – Spirited Search

* * *

"Where are they?" Ren peered under the table, then paced a circle around the room, opening drawers and tossing blankets around. "I don't feel dressed without them," she whined at her bed. It didn't offer any consolation, nor did it produce the hair sticks she was searching for.

They'd been back from Gato for weeks now and it seemed that every time she turned around, she'd forgotten something else. Getting dressed was a chore as she tried to locate pieces of clothing she _knew_ she'd put away the night before. Once she'd promised to help Teapo gather herbs and left the pack on a rock somewhere out in the woods. It almost didn't get found again either, since she couldn't remember _where_.

One day she'd left the house to clear out some persistant highway bandits, only to come running back because she'd left one of her _swords_ behind. It was supremely frustrating. Not to mention _embarassing_.

If she thought it was simply a facet of her personality, it wouldn't be so bad, but she had this nagging feeling that it was somehow related to the more serious lack of memory about her past.

Or maybe that was just an excuse. Being able to blame your absent-mindedness on some obscure supernatural cause could be comforting, in a way.

"Oh fine. I suppose I'll be okay without them, but still…" Giving the room a last scan, Ren stomped down the stairs. In the kitchen she found Lisa making sandwiches. "Not planning another field trip are you?" She eyed the food suspiciously.

"Nope!" Lisa smiled happily. "Bud and I are going to have a long practice session today, I'm just fixing a snack."

"Huh. That's…a lot of sandwiches for a snack…"

"Magic makes you hungry!"

"Oh?" Ren peered at the coldbox. "I'm going to have to go shopping again."

"Don't forget your shoes this time." Lisa slapped the last piece of bread down, seemingly unaware of the glare that was being directed at her.

"Well, don't blow up trying to cast spells with your mouths full or anything."

"We won't!" Lisa laughed. "We promised, remember?" Waving, the girl grabbed her stack of sandwiches and ran out the door. Looking through the window, Ren could see her circle the house towards the old shed in back that they had set aside for magic training. It was better than having them in the house, she thought, but it was worrying not to be able to _see_ them while they were at it.

With a shrug, Ren turned away from the window. It was probably a good day to go shopping anyway; she didn't have anything else planned, and she was getting sick of the same food day after day. The orchard and garden were putting out at an almost alarming rate, and Viridian was becoming quite the proficient hunter, but sometimes one just craved something different.

Grabbing a basket, Ren shut the door behind her. Peering into the tree top, she could just make out a sleepy dragon head. "Viri!" she yelled, and was rewarded with a slight opening of one eye. "I'm going to buy some meat today, so don't bring anything excessive home."

The dragon yawned. "_Too hot,_" he murmured. "_Anyway._" The head disappeared among the leaves as its owner shifted to a more comfortable position.

"Sloth," Ren chided, but there was no answer. Viridian was getting bigger by the day; it was a good thing he was so lazy, really, or they'd all be at a loss for ways to entertain him. Soon he'd be nearly big enough for…something. For some reason, the thought of riding the dragon made her uncomfortable.

Shrugging it off, Ren started down the path, only to trip over a sproutling before going three steps. Keeping her balance by some ridiculously undignified footwork, she stopped to glare at the ugly creature. The things had taken to swarming all over her lawn in the past weeks, and no amount of shooing or bribing would get rid of them.

"Why are you all _here_ anyway?" She'd asked before of course, but some little part of her hoped the answer would be less confusing this time.

"We have no souls, you know," the sproutling said conspiratorially.

No such luck, confusing was obviously the sproutling's middle name. If they had names. "So how are you walking around and annoying me then?" she muttered.

"We just are! We live, we live together, so we survive. We are," it explained. "…all connected."

"Yes, yes, you've told me that. Don't touch me again, thank you," she said, dodging aside as the plant like thing reached for her. "I believe you."

"It's good to believe in things!" The sproutling beamed as it dropped its hand and scampered off to join some of the others. Ren stared after it for a minute, then gave up and continued towards Domina.

* * *

Heading for the market, she spied Elazul and Pearl leaving the inn. Running forward, she called out to them.

"El! There are still sproutlings all over my lawn! I can hardly _move _out there."

The Jumi waited a minute, possibly waiting for her to say something else. She didn't, just stared at him, hands on her hips. "So…what? You want me to get rid of them or something?"

"No! Don't be so violent. I just wanted to complain at someone."

Elazul shrugged. "Complain away…but it's not going to do you any good. Sproutlings are sproutlings."

"I know, I know. But they're so…creepy. They bother me." Ren shuddered and glanced behind her, making sure one wasn't there.

"What brings you to town?" Pearl spoke up. "Didn't Bud and Lisa come along?"

"Shopping!" Ren raised her basket. "Bud and Lisa are busy rapidly consuming my food."

"Can I come with you?" Pearl asked shyly. "The inn is awfully boring…"

"Of course! Unless you were going somewhere already?" She glanced at Elazul, who shook his head.

"No, just out for a walk. As Pearl said, the inn is getting old. Especially that…chicken woman."

"Canary," Pearl corrected him.

"Yeah. Right."

They continued up the street, most people waving as they passed. The townsfolk seemed to have gotten used to seeing the three together. In the weeks since they'd followed her back from Gato, Ren had taken to introducing them to the whole town. Granted, she barely knew most people herself, and forgetting everyone's name didn't help, but somehow the Jumi's rather pathetic people skills made her feel more socially qualified.

The residents of Domina were all nice to a fault, as Ren figured by the way they'd accepted _her_. Once Elazul proved he could talk without yelling at people, and Pearl could be tempted to talk at all, they welcomed the pair with no questions asked. No one knew they were Jumi, or at least no one was impolite enough to bring it up. That was the point of staying in the small town after all; to lie low for a while.

As they walked, Ren eyed Pearl. The girl had wandered off several times since coming to Domina. Ren had run into her on the highway while helping Niccolo track down some bandits and their pet giant vermin. The next time she'd gone no farther than the church on the north side of town, but it had been locked for days and no one could figure out how she got in.

Once, Elazul had come banging on Ren's door in the middle of the night, and they'd tracked his wayward guardian all the way to Lumina where, it turned out, she'd been looking at lamps. They were pretty lamps, but no one was really in the mood to be impressed.

It hadn't happened for a while, though. Pearl had lost that sad, distracted look she'd worn before. In fact, she seemed almost happy. Glancing up, she caught Ren watching her and smiled. Ren smiled back.

Elazul glanced between them. "Did I miss something here?"

"Nope! Let's go to the butcher first. I'm dying for some meat that hasn't been mangled by a dragon."

The other Jumi had lightened up as well. Possibly due to Pearl not running off anymore, but Ren liked to think it was at least partially her fault; she'd taken to dragging him around on all the errands and favors she did to try to make some money. Getting to beat up on bandits and such seemed to cheer him up. Besides, it made the jobs more interesting, if only because having Elazul along was asking for complications.

It should have been irritating, but mostly it made her laugh. After a while, it made him laugh too. Not terribly often, but it happened. Ren considered it a victory point, though in what battle she couldn't say.

Entering the butcher shop, she peered at the joints and slabs hanging from the ceiling. "Er…I don't know what's what…hey, what do you two like?"

"Hmm?" Elazul looked quizzically at her.

"You know…why don't you pick something and we can all have it for dinner tonight? At my place? You guys have got to be running a tab the size of main street at the restaurant by now."

"Ha, it wouldn't be so big if a certain waitress didn't keep putting 'special handling' fees on our bill. She never says anything, but I know she's doing it."

"Who, Rachel?" Ren looked blankly at him. "Why would she do that?"

Elazul rolled his eyes. "You know perfectly well why. I thought you were done rubbing it in." He turned away grumpily, prodding a meat-ridden hook. "Poto lizard, haven't seen that in a while."

Ren blinked away her confusion over Rachel and joined him staring at the oddly colored meat. "Is it any good?"

"Sometimes."

"Eh, let's try it."

They were just leaving the shop when an explosion wracked the air, causing several people to drop their purchases. Elazul jumped and turned to look, but Ren just stood there, clutching her basket. "Tell me that didn't come from my house."

Pearl stood on tiptoe as if trying to see over the buildings around her. "I think it did."

Ren turned a pathetic look on her companions. "But…they promised…"

Elazul shrugged. "And you believed them? We'd better hurry over there." He started to run, but Ren grabbed his sleeve.

"No, we're going to finish shopping, like normal people. Then we are going to _walk_ back. If they have it cleaned up by the time we get there, I'll pretend I never noticed."

"What if they've hurt themselves?" Pearl asked, still trying to see past walls.

"If they have, Viri will be here in a minute to find me, that noise couldn't have failed to wake him up. He pretends he doesn't care, but really he watches them like a hawk."

No more loud destructive noises interrupted their shopping or their stroll back, and by the time they'd nearly reached the treehouse, Ren was feeling quite cheerful again. "So, what shall I do with this meat?" she asked. "Stew? Stir-fry? Char-broil?"

_BOOM._ Apparently the explosion had only been waiting for the perfect verbal cue. A thick plume of smoke rose up from behind the treehouse, right where the twins' practice shed would be. Ren fidgeted for a minute, trying to think of some way she could still ignore it.

"Ahhhh…..drat!" she snapped finally. "Hold this! I'm going to strangle them!" Shoving her food-basket into Elazul's arms, she ran for the back of the house.

* * *

Ren stood in front of the two mischief-makers, tapping her foot. Behind them was a smoking charred mass of reagents, illuminated clearly by the light streaming through a convenient hole in the roof. "Did you do this at school too?"

Bud looked embarrassed. "Once or twice…"

"All the time!" said Lisa. "That's why he got expelled."

"Expelled?" Ren turned a suspicious look on Lisa. "I thought you said you left?"

"Oh, er…" Lisa glanced at Bud, who was glaring daggers at her. "Well, _I_ left. I couldn't let them kick Bud out on his own…"

"It wasn't like that…" Bud muttered. "They were just mad because I succeeded in that inter-dimensional contact spell when they couldn't get it to work."

"Oh, suuuure, like have all those…what were they, land squid? ….running around the school could be called _success_."

"Well, they _did_ come from another dimension…"

"Obviously, but they weren't exactly under your control were they?"

"Maybe I _told_ them to eat the greenhouse!"

Ren ignored them and prodded the spell remains. Something familiar rolled over under her fingers. "Ahhhhh!" she exclaimed. "My hair sticks! You _burned_ them!"

"Oh no!" Lisa spun away and grabbed the stick from Ren. "We didn't mean to, it was supposed to be a surprise, we…huh?" She held the stick up to her face, then wiped it on Bud's robe. "It's not burnt, just covered in ash. What's it made out of?"

"That doesn't matter!" Ren shouted, snatching it back. "You took my things without telling me, and used them in some sort of experiment! What was wrong with _normal_ sticks? There's _hundreds_ of them out there, we live in a _forest_!"

"We needed _your _sticks, boss!" Bud protested. "It was a special spell…"

Ren stopped yelling, her ornaments clutched to her chest. "Special spell?"

Lisa nodded emphatically. "Just for you! Remember the spirits that keep appearing to you?"

"How can I forget?"

"You do complain about it a lot, so, being sort of our area of expertise, we thought we might be able to figure something out. Especially after last week, we thought you needed someone to do something nice for you…"

"What happened last week?"

"Well…you were kind of in a bad mood…"

Ren thought hard. The memory was fuzzy, but she suspected it was more from the copious amounts of diceberry wine present at the time than anything else. "Oh."

"Remember? It was after midnight and you came back home whining about how no one plays fair. I think you lost to Elazul at cards."

"She lost to _Pearl_," Bud corrected.

"I don't remember!" Ren lied. She did remember playing cards, and finding out that for some unknown, nonsensical reason, the quiet little Jumi girl was a total card sharp. By accident, it seemed. Or at least, she pretended it was accidental, while repeatedly clearing the table of cash. Elazul had found it funny. Ren hadn't.

"You're a sore loser." Lisa said sagely, then ducked as Ren threw a hair-stick at her. "Anyway, you were in a raging bad mood the next morning, and most of the day too. So Bud and I hatched a plan to cheer you up…though it took a few days to figure out. I took a look at your sticks…did you ever notice the writing on them?"

"No. Well, maybe. I can't read it though." Ren turned a stick over in her fingers.

"That one says 'Salamander'," Bud explained. "The one Lisa has is 'Aura', and the others are Undine, Dryad, Gnome, Wisp, Jinn and Shade."

"Okay…so, maybe they're supposed to help me remember the days of the week?"

"Even you're not _that_ stupid. Stop throwing those around!" Bud shouted as he ducked. "We…borrowed them this morning to see why. They're not just sticks, they're channeling devices."

"Channeling devices?" Ren repeated.

"Yes!" Bud was nearly bouncing with excitement now. "Those aren't just days of the week you know, they're the names of the eight primary spirits! We did some experiments…see here…" He started to point at the table and found himself staring at the pile of ash. "Er…well it _was _there. The four on that side were glowing faintly when we used the scrying spell on them…and the four on that side were dark. So four of them were channeling spirits."

Ren thought back. "The crystal mirror, the waterfall, the…giant pumpkin…and…" it was a strain, but finally she located it. "The cave where I found Viri's egg."

"Aura, Jinn, Salamander and Undine, by the writing on the sticks."

"Okay…that's very interesting…" Ren looked at the sticks like they might bite her. "But what does it have to do with winning at cards?"

Bud sighed. "Forget the cards. This has nothing to do with cards!"

"Oh. I was hoping I could go demand a rematch…"

"Ren…this is _better_ than cards," Lisa said patiently, as if delivering a lecture to a three year old, instead of her supposed mentor. "Just listen for a minute. At first we thought it meant you could use the sticks to do magic, but no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't coax the spirits back _out_ of them. That's what caused er…this." Lisa waved at the mess. "Twice. They seem to be dormant."

"Dormant?" Ren repeated, then shook her head. "Now I'm just confused. So, what was the point of all that?"

The twins stared at her. "We found out 'all that' about your _sticks_! You don't find that cool?"

Ren started to reply that no, blowing a hole in the roof for the purpose of useless information was not cool, but halted just short of crushing their spirits. "Er…no, it's fascinating, but…what can I _do_ with them?"

"Nothing right now," said Lisa sadly. "The spirits are not responding."

"But," Bud continued slyly. "There are _eight_ sticks, and you've only filled four. So…maybe if you fill all of them, something _will_ happen."

"You know," Lisa suggested softly. "Like maybe your memories will come back."

Ren looked between them and the sticks a few more times. The possible connection between hair decorations, spirits and her memories was completely beyond her, but it was the thought that counted. "So…you were doing this to help me?"

Her charges nodded. "Of course! We've been trying to think of something we could do for you…you know, in exchange for taking us in…" Lisa smiled at her, a little shyly.

Ren swallowed, then spun around and left the shack in a rush. Shutting the door, she leaned against the outside wall of the shed, unsure whether she wanted to laugh hysterically or cry over how horribly cute they were. "That's so…_nice_ of them."

There was a low whistle above her head, and Viridian slithered out of the tree onto the path in front of her. "_You crying_?"

"Not really. Maybe a little." Ren answered.

"_Why?_"

"Just because people like me. It makes me happy."

The dragon looked confused. "_Don't cry._ _I like you too._" He executed a sudden back flip in midair and zipped back up into the tree, as if embarrassed. Ren stared after him. That had to be the longest set of words she'd ever heard him string together. Laughing softly, she wiped at her eyes. Everyone was just getting all sappy on her today, including herself. She should go talk to Elazul, he'd bring her back down to earth. The thought reminded her that she'd left him with her groceries, and she started to walk back around the house, absently cleaning her hair sticks off on leaves and fixing them back where they belonged.

Just as she finished, she heard the shed door bang open behind her. A confusion of shouting burst out and then something shot past her at high speed, knocking her into the tree. Watching it speed off, she saw it was a broom, with a purple-haired child clinging to it. "Lisa?"

"The broom!" Bud came running up. "Lisa was sweeping up the mess back there, when she hit a pocket of unburned reagents, and then _poof!_ the broom took off with her! Come on! We have to catch it!" Grabbing Ren's hand, he dragged her after the disappearing cleaning utensil.

As they raced past the door of the house, Ren saw Pearl peering outside, looking confused. "Emergency!" she yelled over her shoulder. "Feel free to use the kitchen!"

Running down the path, dodging sproutlings left and right, the pair just managed to keep the broom in sight. It followed the path for a ways, then suddenly swerved off into the woods. There it became much harder to track as it rapidly put bushes and trees between it and its pursuers. Sheer persistence kept them going a while longer, but eventually Ren had to admit she had no clue anymore.

"I think we've lost it…" She came to a reluctant halt, then slumped over, resting her hands on her knees. "We'll never catch up."

Bud sat down hard, panting. "But…but…we have to keep going! We have to!"

"How will we know which way, though?"

"I…I can feel it! That broom's leaving a magic trail behind it that anyone with an ounce of magic sense could see." He lifted his chin. "And I have more than an ounce."

"Are you sure? I don't want to go the wrong direction just because of your pride. Maybe we should go back to town and start a search team…"

"Lisa's my sister!" Bud leapt up again. "My twin! She'll be frightened…please, we have to keep going…"

Ren couldn't argue with the young elf's expression, or his pleading tone. "Of course we will, if you can point the way."

* * *

They traveled for hours, judging by the progression of the sun across the sky. After a while, Bud dislodged his frying pan from where he usually kept it like a too-small turtle shell on his back. Holding it in front of him, he waved it about like a dowsing rod. Ren decided not to ask. As long as it got them to Lisa, he could point the way with a live eel for all she cared.

As the morning progressed into afternoon, Bud began to slow down. "I think it's running out finally…there, it stopped. It's not too far away now…it kind of started swerving all over and then doubled back a bit…"

"Well, good. Let's catch up." Ren broke into a reluctant run. Shortly thereafter the trees thinned out, opening into what would have been a clearing if it wasn't filled with piles and piles of junk.

The discarded items were obviously untouched for a long time…plants were growing up among them, and many had already begun to disintegrate as the earth reclaimed them. Still, there was no disguising the fact that it had once been a garbage dump of considerable use. The piles were huge, far over Ren's head in places, and filled with the most amazing variety; furniture, unreadable books, broken weapons, dishes and silverware and bits and pieces that could be just about anything.

Ren picked up a broken toy. It was obviously a horse, though it was missing two legs and most of its tail. "What city did this all belong to, do you think?" she asked.

"I don't know…" Bud started, but was cut off by a loud cry from among the piles. "Lisa!" he shouted, and followed the noise. Rounding one of the piles, the first thing they saw was the broom. It was hovering several inches off the ground and looked very menacing for something with no limbs or eyes.

Beyond it, Lisa was curled up in a ball against the side of what might once have been a sofa. "Ren!" she wailed. "Help! My broom…it's…something's wrong with it!"

The broom shifted directions, floating towards the newcomers and away from Lisa, just as Bud brought his frying pan around with amazing speed and sent it flying into a pile of broken chairs.

Ren rushed to Lisa's side. "Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

The girl shook her head, sitting up. "No…I was so scared though. All I could do was hold on and then it crashed here…but you know what? I thought I felt something, just before my broom started acting funny, and again when we landed. I think it got caught up in the spirit-finding spell…there could be a spirit around here somewhere!"

"Yes, well, it doesn't matter." Ren pulled the elf to her feet. "Let's get you back home."

"It does!" Lisa switched from sobbing in terror to planting her feet with lightning speed. "If the broom was attracted to a spirit, then you have to…to catch in your hair-sticks! So we can get your memory back!"

"We don't know that it has anything to do with…" Ren started, but was interrupted by four feet of wooden fury with bristles. The broom had recovered. "Give me a break!" she snapped, and shoved Lisa towards Bud. "Take her away from here, I'm going to make firewood out of this thing!"

"But…my broom!" Lisa cried.

"Just go hide somewhere!" Ren was relieved to see at least one twin listening to her as Bud dragged his sister off behind him.

"Lead us on a chase through the _entire_ forest will you?" Ren snapped, sliding a sword from behind her back. "I'm tired and hot and I haven't eaten anything all day and it's _all your fault_." Swinging at the floating implement, she was mildly surprised when it dodged the blow.

Actually, the broom turned out to be quite the able fencer. It got in a few hits on her arms and legs, which were feeling bruised and tired enough from the headlong dash through the woods, and then aimed a hefty swipe at her head that she barely blocked in time. Ren was considering using both swords, embarrassing as that might be, when the broom listed briefly to one side and she took the opening, swinging with both hands.

There was a splintery sort of crack, and the broom fell to the ground. A red light glowed briefly around the pieces, then faded. Ren sighed. "At least I don't have to worry about cleaning my sword."

_Ahhh, I thought I heard one of the malicious ones acting up over here._

The voice spoke in hear head, but also somehow from behind her. Ren turned, almost resigned by this point, and found an ethereal figure hovering over a cracked teapot. It had a ridiculously pointy hat and big feet, and looked utterly unimpressive.

"Yes, hello, and which one are you then?" Ren muttered with fake politeness, putting her sword away.

_These things, I was taking them back. Break them down to what they are made out of, so they can't hurt anyone anymore…_

"I don't understand." Ren looked around at the garbage. "It's just old, useless… things. What harm can they do?"

_Shows how much you know. Listen to them…listen to their stories…things indeed._ The spirit shook itself and dove towards her head. Ren threw up a hand in a futile gesture, and suddenly her ears were full of voices. Some screaming, some crying, all desperate. She couldn't understand what they were saying, but they all seemed to be asking, pleading for help in some way. "Ahhhh! Make them stop!" she shouted, covering her ears. Abruptly, the noise ceased.

_In the wars…using people's bodies was not enough, and some decided to use their souls. They trapped the souls in objects, in artifacts, and tried to use them as weapons…but once the war is over…what happens to the souls?_

"Why are you telling me this?"

_All this time I've tried to fix it, to break down the artifacts and free the souls, but it is slow…slow work. You…now that you're back…perhaps you can speed it up a bit?_

"I don't understand…come back here! I _said_ I don't… are any of you things actually _listening_ to me?"

_War is a dirty business. No one ever says what they mean._

The spirit's voice faded, leaving her head empty as usual, except for a great deal of confusion. Ren thought a junkyard would really be the ideal place to throw a temper tantrum, and was about to start pitching broken crockery in random directions when she caught sight of Lisa's broom.

It lay in two pieces, chopped not very neatly in half by her sword. "Uh oh, maybe I went a little overboard." Kneeling, Ren picked up the pieces and peered at the ends. If she could wrap something around it, maybe it would hold…for a while anyway.

_Here._

Ren looked up, straight into two burning orbs, like smoldering coals in black pits. Gasping, she scrambled away, and the figure resolved into a small, pinkish, floating doll. It looked utterly harmless, except for the creepy eyes. It was holding a strip of grayish, old cloth.

_Fix it. Not everything should have to remain broken, like us._

Ren took the cloth, hesitantly. The doll continued to watch her, expectantly. Nervous under that baleful gaze, she set the two halves of the broom handle together and wound the cloth around it several times. It was surprisingly strong; after she knotted off the end, she could barely shift the handle at all. "Thank you," she said, looking up at the doll in surprise.

_No, thank you. Those who fix things…they are the true power in the world. Much more so than those who can only break things. We just become broken ourselves._

The doll floated serenely backwards, disappearing behind a mound of junk. Ren leapt up and ran after it, but it was gone by the time she rounded the pile.

"Is everyone just out to confuse me today?" she asked the mangled bits of garbage around her. "No, wait, don't answer that. I don't want _anything_ else to talk in my head. For five minutes at the very least."

Nothing did; the junkyard remained quiet. Completely, utterly silent. Ren backed away slowly, then turned and ran. "_Lisa!_" she yelled as loud as she could, just to make some noise. "I fixed your broom! Can we _leave_ now? Please?"

Leaving the junkyard and bursting into the trees, Ren nearly fell over the twins. Lisa grabbed her broom and held it close. "You fixed it! Thank you!"

"Um. No problem." Ren thought it best not to mention any creepy dolls. "Let's just get out of here."

"I think I saw a path over that way…" Lisa waved to her left

"Sounds good to me." The trio fought their way through the bushes and presently came upon what was indeed a cleared path. It looked old and deserted, and Ren was about to speculate on how long it had been since anyone used it, when the sounds of a cart drifted towards them, answering that question.

"Should we hide?" Lisa asked.

Ren considered it, but the thought of being able to rest on a cart overruled all sense of caution. "No, let's go catch it!"

Running wildly down the path, the three of them quickly overtook the vehicle, a small covered wagon drawn by two yellow chocobos. Peering around the forward edge was an unmistakable lapine face.

"Niccolo!" Ren gasped. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"Leaving," said the rabbit. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Leaving," Ren shot back. "Fancy that. The middle of nowhere, and a junkyard besides… not much to interest anyone I should think…" She paused. "Wait a minute… you don't _sell_ stuff from here, do you?"

Niccolo managed to look irked and pious at the same time. "You can find all sorts of _valuable_ things in dumps," he said loftily. "It's amazing what people will throw away…I mean, last time I found…"

"I don't care what you found," Ren cut him off. "I won't even pretend to be surprised that you sell other people's _garbage_. In fact, I'd be willing to forget I saw you here at all if you give us a lift back to Domina."

"No big challenge for you, I'm sure. Forgetting, that is." The rabbit spread his hands. "Unfortunately I'm not headed for Domina. I'm going to Polpotoa; the tourist trade there is absolutely _ripe_ for this sort of thing."

"Tourists like broken plates, eh?"

"Pirates' treasure, pirates' treasure, just dug up from the ocean floor."

Bud and Lisa laughed at that, and even Ren cracked a smile. "So this Polpotoa's near the ocean, is it?"

"Relaxing, calm waves, beautiful white beaches. Finest vacation spot on Fa'Diel. Everyone should see it at least once."

"Huh." Ren thought about water, a nice long nap on a beach, something cold to drink…

"I'm starving!" Bud whined loudly.

"What? I don't want to hear it from you, you two had _sandwiches_. I haven't eaten anything _all day_, thanks to this! Not to mention I bought all that…oh drat. Elazul and Pearl are going to be mad at me for inviting them to dinner and then running off…"

"Oh come on, can you really picture Pearl being mad at anyone?" Bud snickered.

Ren pondered this, then shook her head slowly. "I guess not, but El?"

"He'll be furious." Lisa grinned.

"Let's go to Polpotoa." Ren turned abruptly and fixed her gaze on the merchant.

"Five hundred lucre per passenger," he informed her.

"What? You owe me for clearing out those bandits!"

Niccolo eyed her appraisingly. "What bandits?"

Ren frowned. "You know, the bandits…last month some time."

"I don't remember… what day, what time, and on what road did we fight bandits?"

"That's not fair! You know I won't remember!"

"Then it obviously didn't happen. You shouldn't make up stories to try to con people, you know. It's not nice." Niccolo clucked to the birds and the wagon started rolling again.

"Niiiiic!" Ren ran alongside the wagon. "Come on…you know perfectly well…"

Suddenly the chocobos screeched and came to a flapping noisy halt. On each of their backs rode a diminutive purple haired elf. "Okay Ren!" Bud called. "We've got the birds…which way do we steer?"

Ren looked at them, then up at Niccolo. "Which way to Polpotoa?"

The rabbit twitched his ears irritably. "I'm not telling. Get your twin terrors off my birds and maybe I will give you a ride." He watched his panicky team for a moment. "For a discounted price," he added grudgingly.

Ren sighed. "Bud, Lisa… get off. We'll just get lost on our own, and you're scaring the birds."

"Boss, you're no fun _at all_." The twins slid off the chocobos' backs.

"How much?" Ren asked Niccolo.

"I'll take it down to four hundred each," the rabbit said, nodding firmly.

"Don't be ridiculous! I'll give you fifty."

"Fifty? I have a team to feed! Three hundred."

"One-fifty. And that's final or we'll take our chances driving your birds."

The stocky merchant sighed. "You're a terror, you are. How's a poor man to make a living these days?"

"Come off it Nic, you know the only reason you're so fat is all the money you hide under your clothes."

"Fine, one-fifty. But I'm not feeding you."

"Eh, we'll scrounge something up." The three travelers hopped on the back of the wagon. "Beach vacation here we come!"


	8. Blue Vacation

* * *

8 – Blue Vacation

* * *

"Ahhh," Ren lay back on the white sand and stretched her arms out above her. "Between the food and the hotel, I may be bankrupt in a week, but it's worth it to take a break once in a while."

Lisa giggled from her perch on a sandy rock. "You mean it's worth it to avoid an angry Jumi for a while."

"Angry at _you_, you mean. I had nothing to do with it."

"Hey, my broom may have run away with me, but it was _your_ decision to stall in Polpotoa."

"Hmph. I sent them a letter, didn't I? It'll explain everything."

"At the rate that pelican was flying, it'll be lucky to reach Domina before we do," said Bud, leaning over and blocking the sun. "Can I go swimming?"

"Can you swim?"

"Like a dolphin!"

"Then by all means go swimming." Ren shooed the pair towards the waves. "Give me my sun back."

She must have dozed off, though she wasn't sure for how long, when the sound of voices intruded on her rest.

"That rock up there is more solid than the rest of the cliff, and it'll have a great view of the sunset. If we build…"

Ren yawned and sat up, startling the speaker, who apparently hadn't noticed her. She, on the other hand, couldn't help but notice him, now that she was awake. A large yellow fish in a basket with legs never fails to make an impression. Gaping at him, she glanced briefly at the two large, muscular looking bodyguards on either side, but her gaze snapped inevitably back to the fish.

"Hey." One of the bodyguards blocked her view. "What are you staring at?"

Ren opened her mouth to say something rude and stifled it quickly. Hanging out with Elazul was obviously teaching her some bad habits. Luckily, the fish intervened.

"People normally come to the beach to be seen," he said, brushing the bodyguard aside and walking over to Ren, who tried not to giggle at the bobbing motion of the basket. "I can hardly be an exception. Sorry to have disturbed your rest."

The fish extended a fin from the basket to help her up, but Ren pretended not to see it and stood on her own. "Not a problem," she said. "I probably should have been going anyw…" She stopped. Nestled in the basket in front of the fish was a large blue gemstone. As it's smooth surface caught the sunlight and set it sparkling, she had the strangest feeling she'd seen it somewhere before.

"El…Elazul?" A sick feeling settled in the bottom of her stomach and nearly sent her crashing back to the sands, when reality caught up to her and gave her a mental shake. There was no possible way. She forced herself to look closer at the stone.

"Hey!" The bodyguard abruptly shoved her backwards. "What do you think you're doing?"

"That stone," Ren protested, trying to see around him. "I have to see it!"

"My name is Danio, not…whatever you said," the fish corrected, stepping around his guard. "The stone is very pretty, is it not? I found it on the beach a while ago."

"How long?"

"Oh, a few years. Give or take." He held the stone up to the light. "What a find, yes? It's made my fortune, I tell you. It's priceless."

A few years. Ren let her breath out slowly. "Sorry, I thought…I thought I'd seen it somewhere before, that's all. I didn't mean to pry." She watched the light refracted through the jewel. Now that she could see it clearly, it was definitely a paler blue than Elazul's core. Talk about jumping to conclusions…but…it still looked uncannily like…

"Is that…a Jumi core?" she blurted out finally, unable to come up with a more subtle way of phrasing it. The fish blinked at her, and the bodyguards growled in unison.

"Certainly not!" Danio shoved the jewel deep into his basket, looking insulted. "How could you even suggest such a thing?"

"She's after it, boss." One of the guards cracked his knuckles. "You heard the rumors, that's why we're here. Want me to get rid of her?"

Ren backed away hastily, wishing she hadn't left her weapons in the hotel room. "No, no, no, I was just curious. I'm not going to steal it or anything! But you said," she persisted, despite the threat. "That you just found it on the beach…so it could be…"

The fish wasn't listening anymore, he was staring off down the beach. "Hey! I think I see Revanshe! She always takes a walk about this time…" he started running, basket tilting crazily from side to side. The guards shot one last look at Ren and followed him.

* * *

Arriving back at the hotel with Bud and Lisa, Ren couldn't take her mind off the strange blue stone. If it was a Jumi core, it should be…well, she didn't know what should be done with it, but it shouldn't be sitting in some fish's traveling basket, that was for sure.

"There has to be some way to get it from him," she said to the twins as they reached their room. "Just to take a closer look at it, you know?"

"You can't steal it from him, Ren," Lisa said patiently. They'd been discussing this all the way back from the beach. "I mean, it's his, even if he just found it. He doesn't know what it is, except his fortune. You can't just take it."

"But if it _is_ a Jumi core, then it's _not_ his! You remember what El said, or was it Rachel? Anyway, it's got someone's _soul_ in there. It can't belong to someone else…"

"Yes, but you don't _know_ it's a Jumi's." Bud pointed out.

"But…what else can I do? I can't afford to buy it off him, and he's hardly going to let me take it somewhere and get it appraised."

"Maybe there's something you can do for him?"

"Like what?" Ren opened the door and let the twins inside.

"It's a _fish_ in a _basket_. How am I supposed to know?" Lisa shrugged and flopped on the bed. "I'm tiiiiiirrrrrrred."

"Me too," said Bud.

"You guys go to sleep then. I'm going to get a drink."

"Nothing with diceberries!" Lisa called.

"Yes mommy," Ren muttered as she shut the door.

Taking the stairway down, she headed for the lounge, only to find her way blocked by a familiar muscled form.

"Sorry," the bodyguard said, sticking out an arm. "No thieves allowed."

Ren sighed. "I'm not a thief. I take it your employer is in there, then? Well don't worry, I just want a drink." Ducking under the guard's arm, she headed for the bar.

On her way she noticed the basket-riding fish sitting at a front table, eyes fixed straight ahead. Following his gaze, she watched the dancer on stage for a moment. She was rather pretty, and very graceful as she swayed in time with the music.

Ordering a drink with the specific instructions of 'anything without diceberries', she sat and sipped at it while the bartender told her the latest gossip. Apparently the dancer's name was Revanshe, and the fish, who was also the richest man in town, had a raging obsession with her.

"He's in here every night, for the whole show, just staring and staring. At first he tried to talk to her, but she shot him down, so now he just stares. It's kind of sad, but he can afford to hold the table all night, so…what can we do? It drives Revanshe up the wall. You're not seeing her at her best really, so long as she's distracted by him."

Ren nodded, gave the bartender a few coins, and wandered over to the fish's table. "Hello again," she said, sitting down.

Danio looked up at her. "Oh, the girl from the beach. Are you catching the show? Revanshe is wonderful. She moves like a fish."

"Yes, she's amazing isn't she." Ren waited for a bit, then changed the subject. "My name is Ren, I think I forgot to mention it before. I wanted to ask you more about that jewel of yours."

"Oh that? It's not nearly as interesting as…" Suddenly he blushed as the dancer turned towards him. "I mean, what did you want to ask?"

"I just wanted to make sure it's not…well what I said before." Ren decided to go for blunt. It might work. "You see, if it is, then you shouldn't really keep it, because it's…"

"A lost soul. I know." The fish shuddered. "That other woman said the same thing."

"What other woman?" Ren tried to keep her voice steady as a horrible thought occurred to her. Rumors of thieves…no, that would be a ridiculous coincidence.

"Oh just some woman who wanted to buy it off me. I told her no, though. You see, I want to give this to…" He stopped; Revanshe was approaching down the stage again. "It's priceless," he mumbled instead. "Priceless."

Ren stood up, a vague idea rolling over in her head. "I'm sorry to have bothered you, I'd better get going…" She went to return her glass to the bar.

Just then the music died, and the dancer hopped lightly down from the stage and threaded her way over to the bar for a break. "The usual," she said tiredly, sitting down.

"Hi." Ren took a stool next to her. "You look troubled."

Revanshe looked up at her and smiled, probably glad it wasn't some guy hitting on her. "It's that basket fish, Danio," she whispered. "He just won't stop staring! He's been following me for years, but lately he's been _everywhere_. It's a little disturbing, you know?"

"I can imagine."

"Of course. Men! I wish there was some way to convince him that I'm not interested, but he just doesn't listen to me."

"Well, I don't know if you want to take advice from some random girl in a bar, but have you ever thought of capitalizing on it?"

Revanshe blinked. "How so?"

"Well, he's obsessed with you right? So why not ask him for something, something expensive. Like that stone he carries around."

"The blue one? It's very pretty, but he'd never give it to me. His whole fortune is tied up in it, I hear."

"Well, if you _ask_ him for it, then maybe he'll think you're a crazy money-grubbing woman, and he'll leave you alone, yes?" Ren realized how utterly strange she sounded. This idea was not terribly well thought out.

Revanshe raised an eyebrow at her. "You…you're trying to use me to steal it from him aren't you?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that? No!" Ren protested, but the dancer was already standing up.

"Look, I don't know _what_ you want, but I'm going to warn Danio to stay away from you." She turned away and ran towards the fish's table. Ren slammed her glass down and followed her. She caught up just as the fish was replying to whatever Revanshe had said.

"Wait…I know I've been acting suspicious, but I really don't want to…" she started to explain, and stopped. Danio was standing up, but he wasn't looking at her, he was gazing at the dancer.

"You cared enough to come warn me?" he asked, plaintively.

"Well, I just…I mean, I couldn't let someone con you out of your fortune…" Revanshe seemed confused.

Danio's eyes were bright now. "Oh that doesn't matter! I wasn't hanging on to it because of that!" He looked at the floor. "I can't let anyone take it because…well… because I wanted to give it to you!" Suddenly he shoved the blue stone into the dancer's hands. "Ever since I found it that day, I've thought of you, but I never could find the right moment."

Revanshe stared at him. "You wanted to give it to me? All this time?" she sat down abruptly. "That's why you carried it around? I…I think I need a drink…"

Danio fidgeted. "Well, that is… I'll go get one for you!" He rushed off towards the bar, leaving the two women staring after him.

"Well," said Ren softly, a little shocked herself. Even fish could fall in love, she guessed. "That was nice of him, wasn't it."

Revanshe looked up at her, then down at the blue stone. "He just…gave it to me. It's priceless, he's told me so many times, but he gave it to me. Just smiled and…" The dancer seemed about to cry. "I've always been so mean to him! Laughed at him and mocked him and never had a kind word, ever. I thought he was just like all the other men, there to stare and whistle, but…but…maybe he's different! How can I ever face him again, after this?"

Ren looked at the other woman's worried face and abandoned her plan. She laid a hand on the dancer's arm. "You don't have to throw yourself into his…fins you know, just because you've seen another side of him. Nothing says you have to suddenly be in love. Why not give him a chance, though? Start small, talk to him. Maybe he'll surprise you. Look, here he comes."

"But what do I say?" Revanshe looked panicked.

" 'Thank you' would probably be a good start," said Ren, relationship councilor.

"I brought your saltwater sunset mix," the fish called, running up and nearly spilling the drink in his haste to offer it.

Revanshe took it. "And a low tide cocktail for yourself," she said without looking at the other's glass.

"How did you know?" Danio's eyes widened.

"It's what you always get, isn't it?"

"You noticed?"

Revanshe nodded, shyly. Carefully easing her way out of the room, Ren left the two alone.

Wandering up the stairs, she trailed a hand along the railing thoughtfully. Granted, she'd managed to get the stone away from Danio, but now it belonged to Revanshe, and she could hardly ask her for it, not after that touching, if somewhat odd, scene.

* * *

Ren woke to the sound of knocking on her door. Peering around, she noticed Bud and Lisa were gone, probably to the beach again. Yawning, she straightened her hair a bit and went to answer it.

Revanshe was standing outside, clutching the blue stone. "Hi," she said, a smile on her face. "I came to apologize."

"Hmm? What for?" Ren waved her into the room.

"For thinking you were trying to steal Danio's stone!" The dancer slipped inside and sat on one of the chairs. "I see now what you were doing. You were trying to get us to talk to each other, weren't you?"

Ren smiled. No point in bursting the bubble. "I take it your conversation went well?"

Revanshe nodded. "I wouldn't say I'm falling head over heels in love or anything, but as you said, he surprised me! He's a lot smarter than he looks…did you know his fortune isn't based off this stone at all?"

"It isn't?"

"No, he just told people that because he thought it sounded more impressive that way." She giggled. "It's actually based on judicious buying and selling of land around here. He knows a lot about property values and prime placement and things like that…who would have thought?"

"Not me," Ren said truthfully. "So the stone…?"

"Oh, it must be worth a bundle, but…he's not going to be poor without it. I think I like that better than thinking he just handed me his entire inheritance or something. That would be really awkward." She stroked the surface of the stone for a minute, then suddenly held it out. "Here."

Ren blinked. "What? But that's…he gave it to you."

"And I'm giving it to you. Don't worry, I asked him if it was okay. He said he didn't care, it was mine now. So here. You wanted it, didn't you?"

"Yes." Ren took the stone slowly. It felt cool and warm at the same time, like ice melting from the inside. "But not because of the price."

Revanshe shook her head. "I know. I heard you telling Danio…about it being a lost soul or something, was that it? Anyway, I know you won't just sell it or something."

"No, no I won't." Ren turned the stone over and over. "Thank you, this is…well, it's important."

The dancer smiled brightly, standing up. "No, thank you! I never would have realized it without you but, I think…I think Danio and I are going to get along. It'll take some getting used to but, we'll work it out eventually." She winked and let herself out, humming happily down the hall.

"Well, that worked better than what I was thinking of," Ren told the stone. "I'm pretty sure I would have felt horribly guilty about it. This way, I'm happy for them. It's an odd pair, but I suppose stranger things have happened." She stood up, gathering her things and buckling on her swords. "I think it's time to leave, though. All that talk about thieves has me worried."

Locking the room behind her, she examined the stone as she headed towards the stairs. Turning a corner, she nearly ran into two large men blocking the hall.

"Hey!" one of them said. She was beginning to think it was his favorite word. "Where'd you get that?"

Maybe she should have put it away or something, Ren thought retrospectively. "Revanshe gave it to me."

"Suuure she did," the other bodyguard sneered. "After the boss gave it to her only last night? What did you do to her?"

"Nothing! Go ask her yourself!" Ren tried to shove past them, but that was a mistake. One of them grabbed her arm, and the stone was knocked from her hand and sent rolling down the hallway.

Jerking her arm out of the man's grip she stumbled after it, scooping it up and checking for cracks. Apparently, this was all the evidence the bodyguards needed. "Get her!" one yelled, and heavy feet pounded across the floor. "Stop, thief!"

"Oh damn," she swore, probably another bad habit picked up from someone she knew, and dashed down the stairs.

Racing through the lobby and out the front door, Ren ran, clutching the Jumi core to her chest. As she dodged through the city streets, the sounds of her pursuit gradually faded. She slowed and finally stopped on a deserted street, panting a bit. "What is their problem?" she asked the blue stone softly, cupping it in both hands. It didn't answer…or did it?

Holding it up to her ear, she could almost hear a soft tone echoing from it, like the sound a seashell makes but higher, lighter. Over and over it faded in and out, almost like waves, or someone breathing.

"Are you in there?" Ren whispered, staring into the stone. "Is there someone still in there?" There was no answer, of course. "I'll take you to someone who'll know what to do. Well, maybe. He'll know better than I would, anyway."

"And who might that be?" An amused voice asked, behind her.

Ren spun around and stumbled backwards all in the same movement, nearly falling in the process. "Sandra!"

The brightly dressed woman smiled. "You remembered! I'm flattered."

"You have no idea…" Ren muttered. "What do you want?"

Sandra didn't bother to answer, simply lifted a carefully painted fingernail and pointed it at the stone.

"No." The answer was equally simple. Sandra sighed.

"It was worth a try," she said.

Ren continued backing away slowly. "There really _was_ a thief around. No wonder Danio's bodyguards were so worked up."

"Yes, and I was so happy when he finally decided to give it to the dancing girl, so I wouldn't have to deal with them. She would have been easy enough to relieve of it, but now you've gone and taken it."

"Job's not so easy anymore, huh." Ren tossed her head and shoved the core into her rather empty belt pouch. She snatched both swords from their sheaths and pointed one at Sandra. "Still want to try?"

The jewel hunter laughed, an annoyingly delicate sound. "You have no idea what you're getting into, child. Didn't I warn you not to get involved with the Jumi?"

"What Jumi?" Ren shrugged. "I'm not with any Jumi. I just happened to be given a very pretty gift by a friend and I want to keep it."

"Don't bother trying to lie, dear. You know and I know what that stone is." Sandra looked suddenly thoughtful. "Something does bother me though. Why are you here hunting cores on your own? Whatever happened to your…friends? That beautiful pearl and her tenacious knight?"

"Not a clue, we split up after Gato," Ren replied, but she heard the quiver in her own voice. "Damn," she swore again.

"That's right, you're a terrible liar." Sandra shook her head. "Why don't you tell me where they are, I'd love to pay a visit."

"No." Ren decided one word answers were probably going to be her safest bet.

"Very admirable, I'm sure." The hunter examined her fingernails. "But protecting lost causes only draws out the ending. Especially this particular lost cause. I know, I've been watching it for a long time."

"It's not a lost cause," Ren snapped.

"You know absolutely nothing about it," Sandra said calmly. "I'm telling you this for your own good, you know. You're far too emotional, I can see it in your eyes. You'd make a lovely statue, but aren't there better ways to spend your life?"

"What?" Ren was utterly confused now.

Sandra blinked, she seemed actually caught off guard. "What do you mean 'what'?"

"What do statues have to do with anything?"

"You…don't even know?" The jewel hunter started to laugh again. "Ignorance truly is bliss. Child, I'm going to give you one last chance. Give me that stone, or I'll give you a lesson on why you shouldn't get involved. In terms even _you_ can understand."

Ren's eyes narrowed. "You know what, I've had enough of that. Just because I can't remember things doesn't mean I'm _stupid_."

"Oh?" Sandra lifted her chin. "You haven't given me any indication of intelligence so far."

"Smart enough to know not to waste time talking to you," Ren muttered, and charged. Her sword was an inch from the other woman's midriff when a knife shot out and knocked it aside. Spinning on her toes, she brought the other blade around and found it blocked too. Surprised but undeterred, she struck again and again, but nothing got through.

Backing away for a moment, Ren pondered this. Logic said she had twice the blade length of the other woman, and that should be an advantage, but somehow, she just could not get through. What Sandra lacked in reach, she was compensating for with sheer speed. Darting forward again, Ren tried to stay out of range of the knives, but her opponent dodged lithely from side to side, always closing the distance between them.

Ren flung herself backwards again. This was not the same person who'd confronted them in Gato, it couldn't be. Her movements were much faster, far more focused than the fake priestess or the figure in the mists. She tried to figure it out, circling warily.

"You're pretty good," Sandra said thoughtfully. "But not nearly good enough. Your strikes lack…what's the best word…realism. It's like fighting a puppet on strings."

Ren tried not to show how close that hit to the mark. The more she thought about what she was doing, the worse it got, so she generally just charged on in and let her blades do the work on their own. It had been a pretty good strategy…until now. "Oh?" she asked, to cover her nervousness. "Why'd you run away before then?"

"I didn't want to damage the…goods." Sandra grinned with lowered lids. "Jumi cores are so fragile while their bodies are still alive, I much prefer to sneak up on them than get involved in an out and out brawl. Luckily, once you remove them, they become quite resilient. So don't worry about your guest there." She gestured at Ren's belt. "She'll probably survive this better than you."

The hunter leapt forward, suddenly on the offensive. Ren had thought her opponent moved fast while defending, but she was completely unprepared for this. Sandra struck like a snake, but pressed the attack like a bear. Ren could just barely keep enough space between them to block with her swords, returning any attacks was a futile thought. Only pure instinct kept her alive, and she wasn't sure how long it could hold up.

Taking a deep breath, she dodged low and kicked out at Sandra's ankles. The woman sidestepped, but it cost her a second, and Ren ducked around her and fled. As she ran, a sharp pain along her ribs let her know the hunter's last strike hadn't been in vain.

Pelting down random streets, Ren tried to think of a strategy, but all that came to mind was that running wasn't helping, she was breathing heavily as it was, and now each breath hurt. Glancing over her shoulder she saw no sign of Sandra, but didn't find that very comforting. It probably meant she was trying to cut her off somewhere.

Ren grabbed a lamp post to swing herself around a corner and headed for the beach. Bud and Lisa would be there; a couple of magicians would be just what she needed to even up this fight.

Just as the gleaming sands became visible between two buildings, Ren skidded to a halt. What was she thinking? Dragging two children into a fight with the crazy Jumi-killer? That was _exactly_ the sort of thing she'd promised herself she wouldn't do to them. Momentarily at a loss, she looked at the streets around her, which were rapidly clearing of pedestrians as they caught sight of her weapons. Which way then?

A shriek from a slower citizen alerted Ren to danger and she jumped backwards just in time for Sandra to descend on her from above. Knives flashed downwards in a move that might well have decapitated her if she hadn't taken that vital step. Instead, one blade sliced along her arm as she tried to block it, and the other swiped dangerously close to her waist, aiming, no doubt, for the hidden stone.

Ren scrambled away and nearly fell. Dodging to the left, she ran again, heading for what she hoped was the market. A crowded area might drive the hunter off. Unfortunately, she took a wrong turn in her haste, and found herself emerging from the city along a steep path that climbed out over the beach.

Pressing her luck she tried to run back down to the crossroads, but Sandra hadn't been far behind, and appeared quickly below, blocking the path. Nowhere to go but up, then. Even though up didn't sound very safe, hopefully it would offer more room to maneuver.

The narrow path did widen at the top, leading out onto a large flat expanse of rock that jutted out over the ocean. Ren sighed, the wind was strong here, and the ocean crashed against rocks far below. Exactly the wrong sort of place.

Emerging from the path, Sandra looked around appraisingly. "Well, you do have a sense of the dramatic, I'll give you that." She was irritatingly calm and didn't sound out of breath at all. "Why don't you give up here? It's just a stone, after all," she said reasonably. "Your…friends couldn't even revive it if they wanted to. All they could do is carry it around and make themselves a bigger target."

Ren looked at the cliff behind her, then back at Sandra. Part of her was tempted, most of her was just plain terrified, but all of her was angry. She backed away slowly, trying to look like she was considering the offer, then sprang forward in a last-ditch attack.

Sandra seemed slightly startled, but brought her weapons up anyway. There was a loud clash and scrape of metal, and the onslaught came to an effective halt, all four weapons held fast in a quivering knot of blade and hilts.

"I couldn't care less if it was a dead rabite," Ren hissed. "I wouldn't give it to a murderer like _you_." Wanting desperately to follow up with a string of the most vituperative insults she could think of, she decided not to waste the energy. It probably wouldn't faze the hunter in the slightest.

Instead she threw her weight sideways and twisted both swords at once, shoving the knives out of line and bringing a point around to focus on Sandra's throat. The woman's eyes widened in shock and she struggled backwards. Pressing forward, Ren tried to force the blade home, but her opponent writhed suddenly and a knife escaped the tangle of limbs and metal, scoring solidly against her side. She pulled back, trying to minimize the damage, but a wave of weakness and pain washed over her, telling her it was too late.

Sandra leapt back as Ren stumbled, collapsing forward in a desperate attempt to avoid going over the side of the cliff. The ground seemed to be swaying under her with every breath she dragged into her starving lungs. Looking up through the suddenly hazy air, she tried to focus on the woman standing over her.

"Give it to me," the hunter hissed. For a moment her calm seemed shattered, her face contorted with anger as she pressed one hand against her collar. Ren took a perverse pride in that, though she couldn't summon the strength to point it out. She tried to force herself up, but her opponent lashed out with a high-heeled boot, sending her sliding across the ground.

An updraft at her back told her she was dangerously close to the edge. Before she could think farther than that, Sandra was beside her, one knee pinning her down as she laid a knife laid along Ren's throat. The other blade lashed out, neatly severing the pouch from her belt, and spilling the stone into the hunter's hand.

"Do you understand now?" Sandra whispered. "I hope you learned something today. If you manage to crawl away from here, do try to remember it." She stood up, holding the blue stone to the sky. "Beautiful. I've been wanting this one for a long time. Ta ta!"

With a wave of her hand, the woman leapt lightly away, out of Ren's rapidly narrowing view. She started to try to follow her path, but decided the time was better spent pulling herself away from the cliff's edge. Good thing too, she hadn't managed more than a few feet when her muscles gave out completely; all further orders were answered only by a dull ache punctuated by stabbing lines of pain.

Ren spent a few minutes trying to think of something to do, until even thinking became too much of an effort. She closed her eyes…

_Wait!_

_You can't die here!_

_Hold on!_

_Please hold on!_

The voices were familiar, but even as she tried to concentrate, the sound of running feet drove them away, and more external voices broke in.

"Ren? What happened!"

"Can you hear me? Boss? Lisa, go get help quick!"


	9. Complicated

* * *

9 – Complicated

* * *

_This is the last…all I can do…hurry!_

_Listen. You must hear me!_

_There is not much time…reach out…remember…can you not feel…_

…_you are so far away…I cannot…_

Ren woke up. That was about all she could ascertain at first. The sun was shining in her window, the curtains fluttering slightly in a breeze. Too early. She groaned, rolled over, and promptly hit the floor with a loud thud.

Bud and Lisa came running up the stairs, attracted by the noise, no doubt. "Are you okay?" Lisa gasped, rushing over.

A rush of memory seemed to flow up from wherever it had been resting and lodged itself back in Ren's brain. Her eyes widened as she shoved herself away from the floor. There was a dizzying moment when she thought she might fall back again, then she managed to find the bed and sat on it.

"I fell out of bed!" she whined. "My bed! Why was I in my own bed?"

Lisa looked at her blankly. "Who else's would you be in?"

"That's not what I meant! I remember…fighting…and suddenly I'm back here. That's too convenient. Explain!" Everything was coming out at once; she forced herself to breathe deeply. "Please?"

Lisa tapped her foot. "First, how are you feeling?"

Ren blinked at her. "What? Oh." She thought about it, moving her arms and legs a bit. "Sore." There were bandages wrapped around her various wounds. "Did you do this?"

Bud shook his head. "It was Jennifer. We thought she'd be the best person to handle it. She's been down here every day, and Rachel too."

"You've been unconscious…sort of…for a while," Lisa started to explain.

"Sort of?" Ren was puzzled.

Lisa nodded. "It was really strange…when Bud and I found you, up there on the cliff, we thought…thought we were going to lose you…" Tears welled up in her eyes.

"We were calling for help," Bud took over when his sister faltered. "When suddenly there was this light. A bright flash, coming from, well, your hair-sticks."

"It sounds silly, I know," Lisa wiped her eyes. "But that's what happened. And we heard voices. I couldn't understand any of it, but it sounded like…magic."

"But I don't know any magic," Ren put in.

"It had to have been the spirits again!" Bud sounded excited, then calmed down when Lisa glared at him. "It had to be…you see when we got you back to the hotel, we called a healer, but she said there was nothing she could do. She said that it was like…you were healing already. From the inside. That it was blocking her own magic."

"And it was true…" Lisa continued. "You started getting better, all on your own."

Ren stared out the window. "Voices…spirits. Ahhhh!" she exclaimed, causing the twins to jump. "They were talking to me! They finally talk to me and I'm unconscious for it! Unfair!"

Bud and Lisa looked at each other, then back at her. "So you can't remember anything about it?"

Ren shrugged. "Can I ever? What should I be remembering?"

"Well," Lisa said carefully. "You've actually been waking up, off and on, while we've been here, and the whole way back from Polpotoa. You've been…talking. To someone, but not anyone who was in the room."

"Talking?"

"Yeah, but we couldn't understand most of it. Niccolo said you were possessed. I think it creeped him out."

"I can't remember anything…wait, Niccolo?"

"Yeah, after it became apparent that you weren't going to die on us, we thought it would be a good idea to bring you back here, so we tracked down Niccolo again."

"I can't believe he'd bring us back out of the goodness of his heart…you didn't threaten him did you?"

"Nah…" Bud looked like he would have preferred that option. "That fish, the one with the basket, paid him a lot of money to take us. He paid for everything in fact…the healer, the hotel room, everything. He said something about it being his fault, that he should have given the crazy woman the stone to begin with. I don't know who he was talking about but…"

"Sandra. The Jumi-hunter from Gato." Memories of the fight came into sharper focus. Fear and rage mingling with pain and… "That stone _was_ a Jumi core, like I said. But she took it…took it to sell it or whatever it is people like her do. Did you see where she went? From the cliff?"

Lisa's mouth dropped open. "We weren't looking! Was that what you almost got killed over? Some rock?"

"It's not a _rock!_" Ren snapped. "It's important! It's someone's soul…it was important. I wanted to bring it back…to bring it…" her voice faded. "But I couldn't. It should have been the simplest thing…" Suddenly she felt very tired. Lying back on the bed she rolled over to face the wall. She'd tried to do something to help and failed, rather miserably. It stung, more than the wounds themselves.

"Ren…I'm sorry…of course it was important." Lisa tried to apologize. Ren thought about letting her know that it wasn't the twins she was irritated at, but she couldn't find the energy. After a moment she heard them whispering, and then they left, down the stairs.

Ren stayed staring at the wall for a long time. Finally she had to admit to herself that she wasn't going to sleep, and sat up again. Reaching automatically for her hair-sticks on the nightstand, she paused. Great, one more thing to be confused about.

"Why don't you talk to me now?" she whispered, but they did nothing but lie on the table, looking, she could swear, smug. With a sudden angry movement, she swept them from the table and watched them roll around the floor. "_Fine,_ I don't care anymore."

Getting up, making sure she found her balance first, she dressed slowly and then splashed water on her face from the basin, trying to clear her head. It didn't really work; as she stared at the water it reminded her of the beach, which reminded her of that crazy, obsessed woman, which reminded her…

Ren froze in the act of drying her hands. Two seconds later she was running down the stairs, startling Bud and Lisa, who were washing dishes in the kitchen. "Could anyone have followed us here?" she gasped out.

The twins looked confused for a minute, then Bud turned thoughtful. "Are you thinking that woman might have followed you?"

"She wants…she told me she wants…well she might have just been messing with my head but, could she have?"

Lisa frowned. "I don't think so…I mean, we left with Niccolo, and there are always merchants going in and out of Polpotoa. We passed quite a few other carts. I'm sure we blended right in."

Ren sat in a chair by the table. "Good. I hope." She drummed her fingers on the wood for a moment. "Have and El and Pearl been down here looking for me?"

"Them and everyone else. Most of the village has been down here at some point. Jennifer was chasing them off like flies from a picnic. Finally Rachel made up a story about you getting attacked by a sea monster, since we didn't know what really happened." Bud grinned widely. "Now I think word's getting around that you single-handedly saved Polpotoa from some nasty tentacled beast."

Ren wasn't listening too hard. Instead she was thinking. If Sandra had followed her, surely there had been enough time for her to make a move already? Bud and Lisa seemed to know everything that went on in town, if there had been an attempt at the Jumi's lives, they would know. Still…

"I have to get down to the village! I have to warn…" She started to leave the house and stopped, leaning on the doorframe. She couldn't just run down there and tell Elazul and Pearl that she'd been attacked by the Jumi-hunter. Elazul would probably run off and try to hunt Sandra down, and Pearl would be worried…and both of them had been so…normal lately. She couldn't do it, break up their calm moment in what she believed was a pretty rough life. Especially over a failed attempt at being helpful.

Ren sagged down onto her top step and sat looking at the sproutlings milling around the yard. One of them spotted her and ran up. "Hi!" It said cheerfully. "I'm a sproutling!"

"Yes, you've told me," she rested her chin on one hand. "Anything else you'd like to say?"

The sproutling leaned closer, until its face was inches from her own. "I like," it said in a whisper. "Butterflies."

Ren closed her eyes and counted down slowly from ten. When she opened them, the sproutling had moved back a little.

"Also, raindrops," it continued. "And trees, and…" It stopped, looking worried. Then it ran over and put both leaf like hands on Ren's knees. "Will you help me?" it asked, breathlessly.

"Help you?" Ren tried not to jerk away from the thing automatically. "With what?"

"I can't remember…" The sproutling's eyes widened until they took up nearly its whole face. "I can't remember what I like!"

"Butterflies," Ren suggested.

"I said that one."

"How about…flowers?"

"Everyone likes flowers!" It sounded panicked now. "I want to know what I like! What _I_ like!"

"You mean, something you like, but other people might not?" Ren hazarded. "I can't tell you that, only you know that."

"Yes! No! Yes!" The sproutling ran in a circle. "Can't you help me? Please! Help me!" It clutched at its head and then suddenly curled up and fell over.

Ren leapt to her feet. Had she killed it? Moving quickly to the sproutling's side, she laid a hand on a leaf-covered shoulder. "Hey," she said, shaking it slightly. "Are you okay?"She was about to call for Bud and Lisa when the sproutling sprang to its feet, causing her to pull her hand back fast.

"Hi!" it said, then spun around and ran back to the others, leaving Ren staring after it in blank confusion.

"I should know better than to talk to them," she said to the grass in front of her, and stood up. She had to go to Domina and clear up any misconceptions Rachel was spreading around, anyway.

* * *

The restaurant was packed for lunch. Rachel was buzzing back and forth like a bee collecting nectar for the winter, and Ren couldn't even get her attention, much less take her aside for a talk. Finally she gave up and went into the back room to get herself a drink. Then she wandered over to a table against the wall and sat down, waiting for Rachel to notice her.

Staring at her cup for a while, she was about to actually drink it when the chair across from her pulled back and Elazul sat down. "Is this seat taken?" he asked, a bit late. Pearl smiled from behind him, before edging her way into the other seat.

Ren looked at them blankly. They were the last people she wanted to talk to just now, but she could hardly tell them to go away. "Hello again," she said instead, then looked back at her cup, afraid her expression would give something away.

"How are you feeling?" Pearl asked. "We tried to visit, but Jennifer and Rachel chased us off." She eyed Elazul as she spoke, and Ren could just imagine him trying to argue his way past her caretakers.

"Niccolo's been running around telling everyone you're possessed by demons," he said, obviously changing the subject.

"Yes, and then people have been talking...saying you saved Polpotoa from a giant…something. I'm not sure what to think. You don't look so good." Pearl peered closer, reaching out to touch one of the bandages. Ren pulled her arm away.

"Yeah…crazy sea monsters they have around there. I'm not sure why it's so popular as a resort town. Can't even sit on the beach without something trying to grab you." She laughed and sipped at her drink. When neither of them responded for some time, she forced herself to look up. Both Jumi were watching her carefully. "What?"

"You're lying," said Elazul bluntly.

"Oh give me a break, why would I…"

"Jumi in general are pretty good at sensing lies, and you, frankly, are not very good at it in the first place."

Ren put her cup down, but couldn't think of anything to say.

"Why?" asked Pearl. "Why lie to us?" Ren looked at her quickly.

"Oh, Pearl, it's not like that…it's not anything against you, I was just…" She couldn't come up with a good excuse. Pearl looked sad, and Elazul was apparently trying to stare the truth out of her. "I didn't want you to know," she said, giving up with a sigh.

"Know what?" Elazul looked agitated now. "What happened?"

"I didn't want to say," Ren stammered. "I was afraid…"

"_Tell me what happened!_" he knocked his chair over standing up and slammed his hand down on the table. Ren recoiled, then recovered.

"This is _exactly_ why I was afraid to say anything!"

"Elazul…" Pearl tugged on his cloak. "People are staring…"

"So?" Elazul shrugged it off, but looked embarrassed anyway. Picking up the chair he righted it and sat down again, while Pearl smiled disarmingly at the rest of the room.

Ren fidgeted under the Jumi's blue-eyed glare. "All right, I'll tell you…"

"It was that Sandra, wasn't it!" Elazul hissed. Ren blinked.

"Well she…"

"I knew it! She went after you, right? After telling you it wasn't a good idea to get involved… but if you were in Polpotoa without us, why would she think you were still involved?"

"There was this…"

Elazul's eyes widened. "Did you meet a Jumi in the city? Was there someone else there?"

Ren shoved her chair back, not with quite as much force as the other, but close. "_If you're going to ask me to tell you, you should let me _tell_ you!_" she shouted, and dodged between the tables to the door, slamming it behind her.

She hadn't gotten more than five steps down the street when Elazul burst out after her. Behind him, Ren could hear Pearl hurriedly explaining to Rachel that they'd pay their tab next time, and how sorry she was for the inconvenience.

Ren stopped but didn't turn back. "Did you come out here to tell me the rest?"

"I'm sorry." Elazul said.

"Really?" Ren turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "Amazing."

"Look," he sighed, ruining the effect. "I'll be quiet, but tell us what really happened."

* * *

Elazul was true to his word, surprisingly enough, and didn't interrupt once as Ren explained. Instead he stood staring hard at the wall of the inn, looking like he was deep in thought. In fact, he stayed quiet even after she'd finished.

"Hey," she said finally. "Were you even _listening?_"

The Jumi looked at her and blinked. "Yes, of course." He still sounded distracted. "A blue core, you said…"

Ren felt her heart sink. She thought she'd feel better after she told the truth, but now…perhaps he was angry with her for not...

"I should have saved it!" she blurted out. "I wanted to bring it to you…something about it felt _right_. I wanted to keep it from her, but I couldn't." Ren tried to stop the flow of her own guilty conscience, but it barreled on ahead. "I've wanted to help you, ever since…I don't know when! Or why! But I wanted to help and the first chance I got to do something, I failed. I failed, and I'm sorry!"

Elazul stared at her in astonishment. "What are you talking about?" When Ren failed to come up with an answer, he threw up his hands. "Why do women persist in thinking everything is their fault? Pearl is the same, always 'It's my fault, Elazul', or 'I'm sorry Elazul' even when we both know it had nothing to do with her!"

"You sounded…I thought you were angry," Ren said, feeling a bit like a scolded child.

Suddenly he looked straight at her. "You nearly _died_ trying to keep that stone from Sandra, why in all the world would I…have I really come across as so heartless that I'd blame you for _not trying harder_? Goddess." He spun on his heel and paced a few steps away.

Ren sagged against the fence behind her. "I'm sorry," she started, then held up her hands quickly as Elazul rounded on her again. "I take it back! I'm not sorry at all! Forget I said anything!" She fished around desperately for something to cover her internal confusion. "Besides, I thought you _liked_ that heartless image."

He seemed to consider this. "Maybe. A little. But that doesn't excuse you falling apart like that. It's not like you."

"I'm sor…" Ren bit it off. "Don't glare at me again! What am I _supposed_ to say?"

Elazul shrugged, then went back to looking thoughtful. "You know, that reminds me of something."

"What?" Ren watched him wander a small circle around the street.

"Something about this doesn't fit," he said finally. "Why would she attack you? Not just because you had the core. She didn't attack the…fish, did you say? Or the dancer, and she specifically said she didn't want to fight the bodyguards. If she could take _you_ down, I can hardly imagine a couple of muscle heads would have given her much trouble."

Ren frowned, he was right. "She told me she didn't like …how did she put it…brawls. Straight out fights. So why?" She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, feeling cold. "Why?"

Elazul stopped, staring off into the distance for a while, then he turned slowly, looking a bit dazed. "You frightened her."

"_What?_"

"We saw how she works! We saw with Rubens…lulled him into a sense of security, then struck quickly. When we pressed the attack, she fled. Then she tried to sneak up on us in the fog, but when it turned into a battle again, she retreated. Right after she saw that you were going to help."

Ren shook her head at him. "El, you're out of your mind, seriously. She wasn't the least bit frightened. You didn't _see_ her. I was…I was the one who was...besides, it's not like she could have been trying to ambush me! There's no way she could have known I would be in Polpotoa! Lisa's broom, the junkyard, Niccolo…I didn't know there was a Jumi core there or anything…"

"Of course not!" Elazul interjected. "That's _why_ it scared her! She didn't expect any resistance there, she certainly didn't expect to see you again. When people are startled, frightened, they lash out."

"But _why?_" Ren nearly screamed. "What precisely have I done that would scare _her_?"

"You…" Elazul paused. "You defended us in Gato, twice, and she wouldn't know how long we might have been traveling together. You're…our friend, right?" He seemed almost embarrassed to admit it, and rushed on. "That the Jumi might still have friends, that's the last thing a core-hunter wants to see. If people started caring again…if we had _support,_ it would be over for her kind."

Ren turned away from that piercing blue gaze. "I…" She glanced at Pearl, who was practically cowering against the side of the inn, looking worried. Worried, frightened again. When she had finally started to smile. Rage suddenly boiled up inside, more than she'd felt before.

"Of course," Elazul continued slowly, as she still wasn't looking at him. "You probably don't want to be seen with us anymore, considering…"

"_How dare she!_" Ren hissed. Pearl's eyes widened. "How dare she assume that you have no right to be happy, that you shouldn't have friends…and you!" She spun towards Elazul. "How dare you _agree_ with her!"

Ren watched the finger she was pointing waver for a moment, then realized it wasn't just her hand; the whole ground seemed to tilt under her. Stumbling, she heard Pearl cry out, and then Elazul moved to catch her with a sigh, leaving Ren wishing she could stay conscious long enough to yell at him for sounding so utterly put out about it.

* * *

Ren woke up in what she identified as Rachel's room, after a moment's thought. Throwing an arm over her eyes, she sighed. Falling over in the middle of the street, how embarrassing. In front of Elazul, no less, who'd just finished telling her off for being spineless. Or something.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Ren glanced over to see Pearl sitting on a chair near the bed. "I'm fine. Have you been waiting for me?"

"You haven't been out that long…but I was worried."

"I think I just overdid it. I only woke up a few hours ago, and then I came storming down here to tell you guys…or possibly not tell you guys…what happened. Probably I should have eaten something first. Where's El?"

"He said it would probably be best if he wasn't here when you woke up, because you'd be embarrassed enough as it is…perhaps I shouldn't have repeated that." Pearl covered her mouth, but her eyes were bright. "I think he thought you were going to throw something at him."

Ren blinked. "That is…uncannily accurate. You Jumi aren't mind-readers on top of everything else, are you?"

"No," Pearl giggled. "It was just the look on your face before you passed out. If you woke up in the same angry mood, it would be scary."

"Angry? Nah, I usually wake up confused. No room for being angry when you have to stop and think _really_ hard to make sure you still remember who you are." Ren sighed and then grinned at Pearl. "It helps when there's someone there to remind you, though. Thanks."

Pearl smiled and looked back out the window. "It's something I can do," she said softly. "There's not much else."

"Don't be silly, of course you can do other things…" Ren was a bit taken aback.

The other girl shook her head slowly. "No…it's like…well, Elazul, he was surprised that you fainted, it worried him to see you not be strong. But I…if I were to faint, or run away…he'd just accept that. I'm useless, and he's used to it."

Ren frowned. "It's all in your head. If you'd believe in yourself…"

"Is that how you do it?" Pearl interrupted. "By believing in yourself?"

"Of cour…" Ren stopped. "I don't really think about it at all. I just…do things. I see things that need doing and I do them. The idea of can or cannot doesn't occur to me until later…" She stared at the floor. "Actually, now that I think about it, I'm surprised it hasn't gotten me into trouble before."

Looking up, she saw Pearl staring at her with a bewildered expression. "You see? Everyone has doubts about what they do. Don't spend so much time thinking about it. You're a nice person, you care about people…I can hardly imagine that anything you'd decide to do would be _bad_." Ren smiled. "And don't worry so much about what Elazul thinks. I'm sure he spends all his time wondering about whether or not _he's_ doing the right thing too."

Pearl's eyes widened at that, and then she gave a short laugh. "Oh heavens, Ren!"

"It's true! There, that's better."

"I'm sorry," the Jumi girl said, smiling now. "I stayed here to make sure you were all right, and I just ended up bringing my own problems into it."

"Don't worry about it," Ren laughed. "I'd much rather hear about other people's problems. My own just confuse me." She shrugged. "I think I'd better go downstairs and let them know I'm alive, coming?"

Pearl shook her head. "No, I think…I want to think a bit more."

"Sure thing."

Descending the stairs, Ren found herself enveloped in a cloud of butterfly wings. "Ren! We were so worried!" Jennifer exclaimed. "How could you even think of coming all the way down here? You should have stayed home!"

"Let her breathe, Jennifer," Mark said, and to Ren's relief Jennifer fluttered away.

"I'm fine now. I'm fine," Ren assured them, looking around the room. "Where's Elazul?"

Jennifer shrugged. "He went outside. I think sitting in here with us was making him uncomfortable. Not a people person, your friend. Enough about that, you must tell us what happened!"

Ren backed towards the door. "In a minute!" she said quickly. "I have to er…throw something at him."

Ducking outside before they could protest further, Ren shut the door behind her and took a deep breath. "Phew."

Looking around she spied Elazul leaning on the gate, watching the clouds. He had his headgear over one arm, idly spinning the blue-and-gold disc between his fingers. The…whatever they were, feathers possibly…ruffled in the breeze with each rotation. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked, after realizing she'd been staring for far too long.

He looked down. "Oh, you're up."

"I got enough people fussing over me inside, so I'll just ignore that." Ren shoved the gate open, forcing him to move, then leaned on the fence just outside. "So, thoughts?"

Elazul started to say something, then paused and started again, obviously on a different tack. "The blue core, that Sandra took," he said, a bit hesitantly. "A sapphire perhaps?"

Ren shrugged. "I haven't a clue what's what, you know. It was blue, lighter than yours. Actually, when I first saw it I thought…er, nevermind." Some things were probably best left unsaid.

Elazul looked thoughtful for a moment, then oddly sad. The expression was fleeting. He tossed the disc he'd been fiddling with up in the air and caught it again in a strangely light hearted movement that Ren suspected was calculated to distract.

"A brilliant blue…" Elazul hesitated, then plowed on. "I've heard a…a story, of a Jumi guardian, whose core shone like the deep blue ocean. One day, the story goes, her knight was killed in battle, and when she could not shed tears to revive him, the light faded from her core and she threw herself from a high rock into the ocean, never to be seen again. Her name was Sappho."

"And the knight?"

"Does it matter?" Elazul sounded irritated now, busying himself with reattaching the decoration to his head piece.

"I don't know, I was just asking."

"His name was Xanthus, a topaz knight. Yellow," he added, as Ren looked confused.

Something was odd about his tone. "Did you know them?"

"_What?_" Elazul snapped.

"Sorry! There was just something in your voice, I thought maybe…you know sometimes people tell things as stories because it hurts to say it directly…" She trailed off. "I'm sorry."

He went completely silent, glowering at the street. Ren shifted her balance uncomfortably. "I'm sorry!" she said again. "I'll change the subject!"

Elazul stared at her for a minute, then his gaze lightened abruptly. "Look at you, you'll stand up to some jewel-hunter to the death, but you're practically cringing because _I_ lost my temper a bit? How can it be harder to tell me to shut up when I'm going overboard?" his voice was teasing, but the point struck home.

Ren looked off down the street, feeling her face go hot. "Of course it's harder," she muttered. "I don't care what _she_ thinks of me."

Elazul didn't seem to know what to make of that, and settled for staring back out over the street. Which suited Ren just fine, since she didn't know what to make of it herself. The absurdity of that thought hit her all at once, and she giggled. "Would you believe I'm just a little out of it today? Nothing I say is coming out right."

"Hmm." Elazul looked her over for a moment, then turned and disappeared into the house. After a few minutes he emerged holding a glass, which he handed to her. "Drink that."

"Eh, I'd rather not, I think I'm going to have enough of a headache tomorrow morning as it is…"

"It's water. I was thinking maybe you fried something with all that time on the beach."

"Oh thanks, I'm sure." Ren sipped a bit, then frowned at it. "When did you get so practical?"

"I've always been practical."

"Ha."

"Okay, maybe not always, but you don't think taking care of Pearl would make me a bit practical after a while?"

"You're not very good at it. With how often she wanders away from you, I'd call it impractical, really."

"Shut up," Elazul leaned against the fence next to her. Ren just snickered and drained the rest of the water.

"So," she said after a minute, groping for a 'normal' topic. "You're not mad at me for running out on dinner?"

He looked at her in surprise. "Are you still worried about that? Nah, Pearl said that Lisa said that you can't cook anyway. It tasted just fine after I was done with it."

"Hey!" Ren raised a hand to smack him over the head, then stopped. "You cook?"

"Someone has to, would _you_ let Pearl near an open flame?"

Ren snorted at that, then was distracted trying to imagine Elazul cooking. She failed completely and turned to tell him so, only to find him staring blankly at the street, looking like his old brooding self. "What is it?" she nearly whined, mourning the loss of the bantering mood she'd been enjoying.

"Nothing. Sometimes I wish…"

"You wish? For what? Someone to pay your bar tab? A leash for Pearl? A new cutlery set?"

All attempts to revive the atmosphere failed. Elazul turned an exasperated look at her. "That things weren't so complicated."

"What's complicated?" Ren asked sulkily. "Everything is fine."

"Which is why you got attacked in Polpotoa."

Ren turned her glass over and over in her hands. "That wasn't complicated, it was very straight forward. Until you made it complicated with all your who scared who stuff."

"Well." Elazul didn't revive that topic, probably afraid she'd faint again or something. "It reminded me of what I'm supposed to be doing. Searching for other Jumi. If that jewel-hunter is as good as she seems…then it's even more urgent. I shouldn't be hiding here."

Ren sighed. "You're right of course. You should find others and warn them. Maybe there are some Jumi out there willing to band together and fight."

Elazul nodded, then suddenly smiled. "I knew you'd understand."

"Where are you going, then?"

"Geo. It's where Pearl and I were going after Gato, before we got side-tracked. I want…though…" He paused. "I want to leave Pearl here. She likes it here, she deserves to be someplace calm and quiet for a while. What she really needs is a place to stay permanently. A home, a family…but all that aside, she needs people. People to talk to, to keep her grounded."

"Unlike you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Never mind." Ren waved her hands, as if trying to shoo the comment off with the wind. "I agree with you about Pearl. If you run into that Sandra…it would be too dangerous for her." She decided not to mention it would probably be too dangerous for _him_ as well. She'd just assume he knew that. Hopefully. She glanced at the house behind her.

"Mark and Jennifer are nice…they'll take care of her. She can keep Rachel company, and Bud and Lisa can keep an eye on her as well."

"What about you?"

Ren blinked at him. "I'm going to Geo."

Elazul's eyes narrowed. "Oh no you don't. I didn't plan on leaving Pearl here just so I could get stuck protecting someone else the whole time."

"Protecting me?" Ren was shocked. "Tell me you're kidding, right?"

Elazul waved a hand at her. "Not usually, I suppose, but have you looked at yourself since you got back? Frankly, you look like hell. No, you're staying here and recovering."

Ren drew herself up to yell at him, then deflated a bit. There was no point in pretending. "You don't have to be rude about it," she muttered.

"Sorry." He sighed. "It probably _my_ fault anyway, despite what I said. If I hadn't…"

"Stop," Ren interrupted forcefully. "I don't want to hear it, not from you. Not a _word_ about 'getting involved' or anything of the sort. I heard it all from Sandra, and I won't take it from _you_."

Elazul shut his mouth and looked away, staring rather fiercely at the cobblestones. "Goddess forbid I sound like _her_," he muttered finally.

"Indeed." Ren laughed a little. "You should have left it at 'sorry'. It sounded like you actually _meant_ it for once." She winked at him as he looked up, then sobered quickly. "But…you be careful! There's something…_wrong_ about that Sandra woman. She's stronger and faster than anyone has a right to be, and she already knows how to manipulate you…"

"I'm not planning on hunting her down, you know. I'd like to avoid her if at all possible. For now," he added darkly.

A few minutes passed in silence, as the clouds continued on overhead. "Well, I'd better go explain to Pearl," Elazul said finally. "Coming?"

"No," Ren clung tighter to the fence. "I think…I'll stay and think a bit more."

* * *

_Moral of this chapter is...don't try to write when your brain has been fried by sunburn. Seriously. I had to play an extended game of cut-and-paste to make it come out how I originally wanted it to...and not the strange garbled mess that came out when I wrote most of it this weekend after a long mini-golf session in direct sunlight. I still don't know if it's just right, but frankly, I'm tired of messing with it. :) Continued thanks for reading!_


	10. Hunting

* * *

10 – Hunting

* * *

Ren stretched, raising both arms as if trying to touch the ceiling. Then she twisted, left, right, left again. "Finally!" she exclaimed happily. "I think it's worn off."

"Worn off?" Lisa picked up the discarded bandages. "You make it sound like someone cast a spell on you, not tried to hack you into four separate pieces."

"Oh, five, at least." Ren snagged her clothes from the bed and got dressed, relishing the complete lack of pain the movements brought. Lisa sighed at her, and disappeared down the stairs.

After a few moments, Ren followed her. "We should do something today," she announced. "I've got to get out of this house."

"Yeah, us too," Bud agreed from the couch where he'd been reading. "We're sick of listening to you whine and gripe and fidget and complain all day, every day."

"I do not," Ren argued. "Not _all_ day."

"True," Lisa put in. "Sometimes you're asleep."

"Just for that, _I'm_ going out, and you two can stay here." Snatching her sword belt from the coat rack, of all places, Ren flounced out the door. She hadn't gone very far before a whine overheard alerted her to an incoming dragon.

"_Ren!_" Viridian swooped down and hit the ground in front of her in a spray of grass and dirt. Then he floated back up more slowly, hovering a foot off the ground.

"Viri, don't tear up my lawn landing if you're not going to _stay_ landed," Ren chided.

"_Got rid of _them_, didn't I?_" The dragon waved a claw at the sproutlings, who had scattered into the bushes. "_Let's go hunting._"

"Hunting, hunting, that's all you ever want to do."

"_I'm hungry!_"

"That's because you grow like a weed. What kind of creature gets so big so fast anyway?" Ren prodded him on a shoulder that was nearly at eye height.

Viridian looked back along his length speculatively. "_A dragon._"

Ren laughed. "I suppose I asked for that." She shook her head. "Oh never mind. At least you can feed yourself. Yes, let's go hunting."

Viridian executed a happy loop in midair that missed Ren's nose by an inch. Glaring at him, she started for the trees.

"_I needed to get big fast,_" the dragon continued, floating along next to her.

"Why?" Ren looked up.

"_I don't know._" A ripple ran down his spine."_I feel trapped. I need to be bigger!_"

"Well, you're doing a good job of it. I wouldn't worry." Ren patted his side comfortingly. Viridian gave his hissing laughter that was getting deeper by the day, then suddenly stopped, craning his neck back.

"_Someone's coming._"

Ren turned, following his gaze, and saw Pearl running headlong up the path. Waving, she drew the Jumi girl's attention to their position, as if Viridian wasn't obvious enough.

Panting, Pearl stumbled to a halt in front of them. "Ren…there's a problem…" She choked and started to cough from trying to talk and breathe at the same time.

"Slow down a bit, it's okay…" Ren took her by the arm and steered her to a rock where she could sit down.

Pearl sat and waited until she could talk again. "It's Rachel," she said eventually. "She's disappeared."

"What?" Ren glanced instinctively towards Domina. "How? When?"

"Probably last night, I woke up early this morning and she was gone…I didn't hear her leave or anything! Mark's in a panic, and Jennifer's been all over the village trying to find a clue, but no one saw her. They asked me to run down here, in case, but…" She ran out of air.

"She wouldn't leave in the middle of the night just to visit me," Ren concluded for her. "But…where would she go?"

"I don't know! I…well…last night she seemed agitated about something. In fact, she'd been kind of quiet, since you and Bud and Lisa came over a couple days ago, remember?"

"Yes, actually. I do occasionally remember things," Ren muttered.

Pearl stared at her. "I didn't mean…" she stammered. "That is, I wasn't trying to imply…"

Ren blinked, realizing how harsh it had come out. "Oh, I'm sorry, Pearl. Don't listen to me," she urged. "Go on please."

"That's all really." Pearl looked sadly at the ground. "She seemed restless, so I asked her about it, and she said that she didn't know what to do with herself. So I said…well, I've been thinking, you know, about what you said? So I just repeated what you said, about doing things you think need doing, just because…" She blushed suddenly. "I can't say it as well as you did. Maybe it didn't come out right and that's why she ran away?"

Ren's mind was going a mile a minute, trying to make some connection, but her thoughts were interrupted as she looked at Pearl's distraught face. "You can't blame yourself," she said, helping the other girl up. "Whatever she's done it was _her_ choice. Come on, let's go inside, you look like you could use some water."

"What happened?" Bud came running up with his sister close behind him. Obviously they'd noticed the little gathering at the wood's edge.

"Apparently Rachel's run away," Ren explained, and saw the twins both flush. "You know something!"

"N…not really…" Lisa wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I mean, we didn't exactly tell her to…" Bud half continued.

"Spit it out!" Ren demanded, and Viridian swished his tail loudly through the bushes behind her. He was probably just annoyed at having his hunting trip curtailed, but it made a nice effect.

"Well…" Lisa sighed. "We were talking to her the other day, you know, about magic…while you were out shopping with Jennifer and Pearl."

"She seemed really interested, and she's so quick on the uptake, that we started to show her some things…" Bud took up the story.

"But then we got worried, because, well…" Lisa looked embarrassed. "I was afraid Bud would get out of hand and blow a hole in their house, so…"

"What do you mean, _I_ would get out of hand?" Bud interrupted. "You were the one who was about to try that…"

"Hey! Stay on subject here!" Ren snapped. The twins flinched.

"Sorry!" Lisa apologized hurriedly. "Anyway, we ended up telling her about the magic school, and how if she really wanted to learn, she should ask her parents…we really did say ask her parents…" she trailed off.

"Oh!" Pearl clutched at Ren's sleeve. "It is my fault after all! Because I told her…"

"And _I_ just told _you_ it's not your…argh, I sound like Elazul! Look what you people are doing to me! Who cares whose fault it is or isn't!" Ren waved the three of them a few steps away, trying to give herself room to think. "So the general idea is, Rachel's probably snuck out to enroll in the magic school?"

Lisa nodded.

"Which is…where?" Ren asked, after a moment's hesitation.

Bud looked at her blankly. "Geo."

"Oh, right. Geo." She tapped her fingers on Viridian's side thoughtfully, then brightened. "I'd better go after her!"Her three companions exchanged looks. "What?"

"Nothing," Lisa said, but her expression was knowing. "I can't imagine you'd have _any_ reason to suddenly rush off to Geo, now that you're all better."

"I _do_ have a reason. Rachel, remember? I don't know what _you're_ talking about." She looked at Pearl for support, but the Jumi was simply watching her expectantly.

"Shouldn't you tell Mark and Jennifer? I mean, they'll be worried sick…" she suggested.

"_You_ can tell them." Ren gave her a gentle nudge towards the path. "If I leave now, I won't be too far behind her…"

"_If _we_ leave now, _we_ could catch her on the way,_" Viridian spoke up loudly. Ren jumped and stared up at him.

"You're not saying…"

"_I can take you to Geo._" The dragon wriggled happily. "_I'm big enough now!_"

"I don't know…" Ren looked him over dubiously, but she know the doubt was mostly in her own mind. "It would be faster, I guess…are you sure?"

"_Yes!_" Viridian sounded so exultant, Ren didn't have the heart to object further. Slowly, she put her hands on the dragon's side, then vaulted up in a fluid movement. Settling into position, she was startled at how _right_ it felt. Leaning against the pale fur that lined his back, she could hear his heart beat, feel the slight movements of skin and muscles that kept him in the air…it seemed so normal, as if…

"Do you even know _how_ to get to Geo?" Lisa's voice interrupted. Ren sat up, blinking.

"Er…no. Why don't you tell me?"

"_Tell me_." Viridian insisted. "_I'll remember._"

Ren started to protest, but Lisa stepped up and began outlining directions, main roads and side roads and landmarks, and she quickly stopped listening.

"_I've got it. Ready to go?_"

Without even waiting for an answer, or any sort of goodbyes, Viridian swirled up into the air. Ren gasped and hung on tight, but after a few seconds she realized that there was very little sense of motion. Not nearly as much as she would have expected. A little extra weight pressed her into the dragon's back, and a slight wind blew her hair back, but no more than running downhill fast. Whatever magic kept him in the air without wings seemed to have passed to her as well.

Looking back, she could see Bud, Lisa and Pearl watching her ascent. Holding with one hand, she raised the other in a frantic wave that she hoped would convey that everything was fine. Then she returned her gaze forward and tightened her grip as Viridian sped up.

The dragon was in high spirits. He swooped and glided, diving and spiraling in endless loops. Ren was afraid at first, but nothing he did seemed to have the slightest chance of flinging her from her perch, and she quickly began to enjoy herself.

"This is incredible!" she called out, and Viridian trilled gleefully in response.

Suddenly the sky shifted. For a moment it was blood red and angry, clouds boiling overhead. Viridian tilted and lost altitude, dropping fitfully towards the ground. Ren shrieked and clung to his scales…and then everything was normal.

Breathing fast, Ren loosened her grip. Looking around and down she saw several rows of gravestones passing far below. For a moment it had felt as if something was pulling on her, as if it had given a short sharp tug to her soul…

Shuddering, she forced herself to look away, ahead. "Viri? Did you feel that?"

"_Feel what?_" The dragon tilted his head backwards and looked at her questioningly.

"Nothing." Ren clamped down on the urge to look behind her again, and with far more ease shoved the disturbing thought out of her mind. No haunted cemetery was going to ruin her first flight.

* * *

Geo was a long trip from Domina. Ren assumed Rachel was traveling on foot, but even if she'd caught a ride somewhere, there was no way she could have kept ahead of Viridian. So it was quite a surprise when they reached the city a few days later and still hadn't seen wing nor hair of her.

Ren leaned against a scraggly tree, shredding spiny needles from their stems and staring at the city walls murderously. Eventually she straightened, launched the naked twig into the stream they'd camped by, and turned to the dragon lounging in it.

"Okay, Viri, bath time's over. Apparently Rachel's smarter than us, though I suppose I should have known that already. I'm going into the city…if she's somehow got there ahead of us, I'll find her. Meanwhile, I want you to go back over the roads, side roads and any other likely looking place. If she hid from us somewhere along the way…I'm sure you can ferret her out."

The dragon snorted bubbles at her. "_Not a weasel. I want to see the city._"

"You're getting too big to pass as a pet anymore, and you'll only cause a ruckus in the streets…don't look at me like that! You know you would, and probably enjoy it too."

Viridian nearly tied himself into a knot trying to look ashamed and insulted at the same time. Finally the dragon stood up and shook himself, sending water everywhere. When Ren was done spluttering and wiping her eyes, he was a rapidly receding green blur heading in the direction they had come.

"Well, if I'm lucky he'll do as he's told. If not, at least he'll be off sulking somewhere and not tearing Geo apart piece by piece," Ren mumbled to herself as she wandered back to the road.

By the time she reached the city gates, she was dry; the summer sun baked the ground even hotter than Polpotoa. Stepping through the gates, though, Ren suddenly felt the temperature drop to a more comfortable zone. Blinking, she walked back out through the portal, then in again, feeling the heat waver on and off.

"It must be magic!" she exclaimed, then looked around hurriedly. Several people had stopped on their way and were staring at her. "Ah…I mean, of course it's magic. Silly me." Gathering up some shreds of dignity, she stepped through the gate one last time and walked as quickly as possible away from the amused whispers behind her.

Paying more attention to getting away from the gate and less to going anywhere specific soon got her hopelessly lost. By the time she thought to look around, she had no idea what street she'd come down. Geo was apparently built like a maze, with alleys and houses piled any which way. Some enterprising people had even built their houses _over_ the streets, creating tunnels and alcoves everywhere.

Ren glared helplessly at the fifth dead end she'd reached. "Oh forget this," she whined, backed up, got a running start and scrabbled over the wall she'd been facing. Making a rather ungraceful but upright landing on the other side, she brushed herself off, looked around, and found herself embarrassed once again.

She'd finally found some open space, what appeared to be an outdoor restaurant of some sort, full of tables and chairs and relaxing people; most of whom were now staring at her in amusement or shock.

"What?" Ren snapped at the lot of them. "If you'd built this place properly, I wouldn't have to resort to things like that." Forcing herself to ignore the stares, she stalked over to the canopied bar.

"Excuse me," she directed at the bartender, who was already watching her, of course. "Where can I find the magic school?" Behind her, someone snickered. The bartender managed to keep a relatively straight face and started outlining the necessary turns and cross-streets.

Nodding as if she understood, Ren took the streets at a run and got about halfway, she thought, before the rest of the directions leaked out of her head, leaving her standing on a wide, crowded looking street. Well, at least she'd made it to a main avenue, that had to be an improvement.

Strolling up the street and trying to look like she knew where she was going, she came to a fork. Two paths lead off to either side, uphill, and directly in front of her was a store with a lot of shiny-looking jewellery in the display windows. Ren look back and forth between the streets for a moment, then made the obvious decision and entered the shop instead.

Inside it was nearly black compared to the brilliant sunlight outside. By the time her eyes adjusted, the shopkeeper had put down whatever he'd been working on and was watching her instead. He was a mousey looking man with baggy, rumpled clothes, uncombed hair and glasses that looked like retired window panes. "Can I help…" he started, then stopped. Ren glanced around the shop, but saw nothing but dusty shelves filled with antique jewellery, a few boxes stacked in a corner, and the counter itself.

"No, I don't think so. I'm looking for…"

"We're closed," the man interrupted. "Please leave."

Ren stared at him. "The door was open," she waved at the entrance behind her.

"I was just closing," he stepped out from behind the counter, making shooing motions. "Go on, I don't have anything you'd be interested in!"

"I'm just looking for direc…" Ren found herself stumbling backwards out the door as it slammed in her face. Reaching out, she tried the knob, but the bolt slid home just as she turned it.

Just as she was about to start banging on the window or something, a flutter of cloth caught the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw none other than Elazul leaning against the front pillar of a nearby building, looking like a well-placed statue. His eyes were closed and his arms crossed; only the slight movement of his cloak in the breeze gave him away.

Ren stood watching him for a minute, but he didn't look up. "Typical," she muttered. Walking around the back of the pillar she rested against it, peering around the side at the Jumi. Still no reaction. Slowly edging her way along the stone until she was almost next to him, she leaned over.

"Hi there," she said loudly.

Elazul jumped like he'd been bitten. Spinning around, hand on sword hilt, he stumbled back into a potted plant, which tipped over and fell with a crash, scattering soil and fronds everywhere. "What the…" he started, then caught sight of Ren, doubled over with laughter. "Oh, it's you."

Muttering, he turned around and righted what was left of the plant. Then he spun back, eyes wide as the recognition caught up with him. "Ren!"

"Yes?" Ren asked innocently.

"What in mana's name are you _doing_ here?"

"Looking for a friend," she answered slyly.

"Not Pearl? She didn't…"

"No, Pearl's fine. Still at Mark and Jennifer's, enjoying all the pink."

Elazul started to speak, then stopped, looked confused, opened his mouth and stopped again. It was quite funny. "Not you," Ren clarified, before he could gather up whatever he was trying to gather up to ask. "Rachel's disappeared and the twins said she probably came here."

"Oh," said Elazul faintly. Ren snickered. "What?" he asked grumpily.

"Nothing." Quickly, she outlined what had happened, so far as she knew. "You haven't seen her around, have you?" she concluded.

"No…though all things considered, I doubt she'd come running up to say hello. She doesn't like me, remember?"

Ren thought about it. "No, I don't. But nevermind that," she said quickly. "Where's the magic school?"

Elazul pointed up a street. "It's…" he looked at her critically. "I'll walk you."

"I'm not an invalid anymore," she sniffed. "I can walk just fine."

"That's not it, I can just see you getting lost somewhere along the way. There's something I want to check anyway," he added hastily.

"Well, only so long as you're going that way," Ren grinned at him. Elazul just snorted and started up the street.

As they passed the unfriendly jewellery shop, Ren aimed a kick at the door and was mildly comforted as it rattled in its socket.

"What did that door ever do to you?" Elazul asked as she ran to catch up.

"Nothing, but the shopkeeper was incredibly rude. All I wanted was some directions, but he acted like I was going to rob him."

"I got the same reception. All I did was try to make some discreet enquiries about Jumi cores. That's the sort of place that often hears about such things..."

"Yes, I can imagine. Discreet." Ren nodded sagely.

"Hush. Anyway, all I got was a lecture involving words like 'vulgar' and 'insensitive' …on and on…like _I_ need to hear it." He shrugged. "Of course, I wasn't going to tell _him_ that, so I just left."

"Just left? No yelling? Invectives? Slamming of doors?"

Elazul looked over his shoulder. "Perhaps."

Ren giggled. "No wonder he was paranoid when I walked in."

* * *

The gates of the magic guild were tall, stark, and imposing. They were, however, open, which lessened the effect somewhat. The courtyard beyond was empty as Ren and Elazul passed through the portal, but the sounds of lectures being given could be faintly heard through several open windows.

"So…what are you looking for, then?" Ren asked, turning a slow circle and scanning the buildings.

"I thought I saw…or perhaps sensed is a better word…a Jumi here. Well, she wasn't here to start with, but I saw her a couple times in the city, and followed her here one day. I tried to talk to her, but she ran off. Lost me in a crowd of students."

"Well, there's no one out here now…maybe we should go inside."

"Are we allowed?" Elazul stopped with one hand on the entrance.

"Is the door locked?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem?" Ren reached past him and pushed the door. It opened silently and they went inside. "I mean, the worst they can do is yell at us to get…"

"_Keep it down in here, can't you see this is a library?_" A voice bellowed. Ren squeaked and nearly fell down the stairs in front of her. Elazul grabbed her arm at the last second and dragged her back to stable footing.

Squinting as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she could see shelves of books covering every wall. It was indeed a library. "Sorry," she murmured to the upturned faces of several students scattered about the place. She wondered which one of them had yelled.

Suddenly there was a flurry of activity just at the bottom of the stairs and to her left. Ren looked just in time to see the edge of someone's robes disappear out a side door, which shut behind them. Descending quickly, she started towards it, but her eye was caught by a shining pane of glass that seemed suspended from the middle of the ceiling.

Stopping, she peered at the strange piece of artwork. It was circular and very colorful, small bits of glass glued together to form what appeared to be a very ugly face. As she looked closer, she couldn't find any strings or stands holding it up.

"_What do you think you're doing!_" Ren jumped to her feet from where she'd been looking underneath the glass, just missing smacking her head into it on the way up. It was the same voice that had startled them upon entering.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were…er…" She tried to think of something non-insulting to say. "Er…did you speak?" She peered around the pane again, hoping to find someone behind it.

"More like shout," Elazul muttered, rubbing one ear. "I thought you said to be quiet in here."

"_I'm the exception!_" the glass boomed again. "_It's very hard to project one's voice from another dimension, I'll have you know! Volume is the least of my worries!_"

Ren backed slowly away from the loud apparition, only to stumble into someone approaching from behind. Turning to apologize, she came face to face with a green-eyed, green-haired young woman who lifted a hand in greeting.

"Don't mind Nunuzac," the girl explained. "He got stuck in an alternate universe when an experiment went bad, and he's awfully cranky about it."

"_That's _Professor _Nunuzac to you, dirt!_" the dimensionally challenged glass yelled, vibrating slightly. "_Don't talk like you know anything just because you have hands! Hands…I miss hands…_" Subsiding in volume, Nunuzac seemed to dim slightly and backed away, mumbling to himself.

"Dirt?" Elazul spun towards the new girl. There was a flash of green from what Ren could now see was a core embedded below her throat. "You're the girl from outside! You _are_ a Jumi!"

"I'm not making any attempts to hide it." The girl lifted her chin a bit haughtily. "I am Esmerelda, emerald guardian."

"Not hide it? Here? In a place like this, surely…"

"The school isn't like that. Magicians aren't hunting Jumi cores anymore. At least, not the ones here."

"_Wouldn't want your core anyway, useless clod of dirt that it is…_" muttering came from Nunuzac in the corner.

"Hey, what's _your_ problem anyway?" Elazul snapped, rounding on him, but Esmerelda stepped between.

"I said not to worry about him. I'm used to it." She tilted her head at him. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

Elazul looked around, but no one was paying attention to them anymore. "I'm Elazul, lapis knight," he said finally. "If you knew I was Jumi, why did you run away, before?"

"I didn't know then. What was I supposed to think, with you shouting and barreling after me like a boar?"

Ren snickered loudly at that, causing both Jumi to look at her. "And…" Esmerelda stepped forward. "Is this your guardian?" she asked hesitantly, then looked closer. "Oh, you're not a Jumi at all."

Ren blinked. "Sorry?"

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that," Esmerelda held up a hand defensively. "I was just expecting a guardian, I guess." She turned to Elazul thoughtfully, leaving Ren feeling shut out, like a door closing.

Reaching out, she put a hand on the girl's shoulder and turned her back around lightly. "His guardian is back at home," she explained. "I'm Ren, by the way."

"Oh." Esmerelda sounded a bit disappointed. "So why…"

"So, you don't have a knight?" Elazul interrupted.

Esmerelda turned towards him. "Well I…"

"Actually, it's kind of urgent that I ask," Ren spun her back. "Is there a girl named Rachel in the school here?"

"Well, I know most of the students and…"

"You see, I'm looking for others…"

"I haven't seen…"

"She would have come here only a few days ago maximum…"

"_Stop pulling on me!_" Esmerelda yanked her arm away and stamped her foot in frustration. "I need to go to _class_, why don't you people figure out what you really want while I'm gone!" Swirling around, she stormed out the door.

Ren glared at Elazul. "Can't you let a person _talk_ for once without interrupting?"

"Let _you_ talk?" Elazul snapped. "Rachel's safe here, if she is here at all. _I_ wanted to warn her about that hunter!"

Flushing, Ren was about to respond, when a loud voice cut her off. "_I see lack of communication among young people is as prevalent as it ever was._" Nunuzac floated up. "_You've already chased away my apprentice, are you going to continue yelling until you both stomp off in a huff as well?_"

They glanced at each other, then Ren gave half a smile and Elazul shrugged and looked away. "I guess I'm not really the best at…how did you put it? Communicating," Ren explained.

"_It's a useful skill to learn_," Nunuzac insisted. "_Saves on misunderstandings, and also the sanity of teachers. A lot less yelling to get yourself heard._"

"You're one to talk about yelling." Elazul refocused on the conversation. "Wait…apprentice? With the way you were talking to her before?"

"_She came to me full of her own importance_," Nunuzac said firmly. "_Not unlike a couple of kids I'm looking at right now. A few insults simply remind her that she is a small person in a big world._"

"Says the floating dinner plate," Elazul retorted hotly. "I don't see where you get off making a call like that."

"_From out here, the big picture is far easier to see._" Nunuzac twisted slightly in midair, almost a shrug. "_Apparently you are not interested_." He started to turn away.

"Wait." Elazul reached out to tap the side of the glass. "I'll listen."

"For five minutes at least," Ren put in. Elazul made shushing motions at her, and she laughed.

Nunuzac turned back with a sigh. "_Very well. Esmerelda came to me some years ago, seeking a spell to locate her sisters cores…don't interrupt! I'll explain. She has three sisters, all deceased. Their cores together, are four parts of a whole, an emerald quartet. She believes if she could get them all together, she could revive them._"

"But the Jumi can't cry anymore," Ren broke in, despite herself. "I thought that was the only way…"

"_It is._" Nunuzac glared her into silence. "_But as I said, she is very full of arrogance, certain that she can succeed where so many have failed. I told her it was impossible, but she insisted. So I took her as my apprentice and we worked together on a spell to bring the cores to her. It took many years, but we have recently finished it._"

Ren sat down at a table. The professor's echoing voice was giving her a headache. "So…did it work?"

"_It did, in a way. Hand to hand, coincidence by coincidence, the cores have come to this city. We can sense that much, but we cannot locate them more specifically. The magic interference here is too strong. So Esmerelda has been searching the city in recent days, seeking some sign from her own core._"

"That could be dangerous right now," Elazul said. "There's a core-hunter of the worst type about. I'm sure she's safe here at the school, but out in the streets…"

"_Well._" Nunuzac tilted backwards a bit. "_When she comes back, why don't you consider offering her_ your _help, instead of pelting her with demands?_"


	11. Gathering

* * *

11- Gathering

* * *

"Come on, let's take a look around."

Nunuzac had informed them that it would be several hours before Esmerelda was done with her classes, and Ren was fidgety after five minutes. Elazul, however, seemed quite content to sit in the library and stare at the wall. "Go by yourself," he muttered as she paced circles around his table. "There's nothing here I want to see."

"I want to look for Rachel." She stopped in front of him, hands on her hips. "Two people will be better than one. Besides, do you really want to stay here and make small talk with the two-dimensional professor over there?"

"Small talk? I don't think anything said at that volume can be considered small." Elazul sighed and stood up. "Fine, fine. Let's go make fools out of ourselves gaping around like tourists."

"Oh, I can be enough of an idiot for two people, I'm sure." Ren laughed as they exited the library. "You can settle for looking like the bored and reluctant chaperone."

"Somehow, I think I can manage that." Elazul squinted in the sunlight. "Where to?"

"Hmm." Ren looked at the buildings and settled on the large middle one. "This way!"

"You don't have to drag me." Elazul disconnected her hand from his sleeve. "I'm not _that_ reluctant…" A loud chime rang out from somewhere above them. For a moment all was deathly still, and then the school exploded. Students poured out of every available door, crisscrossing the courtyard with a latticework of robes, hats, and running feet.

Ren flattened herself against the wall of the main building with Elazul, staring at the milling crowd. She started to edge her way towards the door when she saw a face out of the corner of her eye.

"El! That's her!" She pulled on his sleeve again, pointing.

"Where?" Elazul watched the passing students without recognition.

"Over there…hey, you! Wait!" Ren called.

"Yeah, that's specific…"

"Rachel!" she yelled. "Get back over here this _instant!_" Pushing away from the wall, Ren dived into the crowd, but even as she did so, it thinned and broke up, the students disappearing into the buildings as quickly as they'd emerged.

"I didn't think there _were_ that many people here," Elazul muttered. "Do they really all have to move at once?"

Ren looked from door to door. "I think she went in there," she said, pointing to a smaller building across from the library.

Entering, they found several hallways leading off, lined by doors. "I think they're offices," Elazul said, peering through an open one. "There's no one here."

"I'm sure I saw…" Ren started opening doors and looking inside. "Hmm? What is it?" Behind her, Elazul had stopped. Backing up, she joined him in staring at an office door, slightly ajar. "Hear something?"

"Yes, sort of." Elazul laid a hand over his core under the scarf. "I almost thought…" He pushed the door the rest of the way open. There was no one inside. Ren shrugged and went in.

The office was bigger than some of the others, with a nice view out into some gardens in the back. There were cabinets and tables everywhere, and a large desk in the middle. "So…who did you think was in here?"

Elazul shook his head. "No one, I just felt like…there it is again!" He opened a nearby cabinet, closed it, and started rummaging in the drawers beneath it.

"El…what are you doing?" Ren walked to the door and peered out into the hall beyond, but no one was there. "This is someone's room!"

"I seem to recall you saying something about if it's not locked…look!" He pulled a black box out of the drawer, from underneath a bunch of papers. Ren hurried over as he lifted the lid.

Inside, nestled on wadded cotton, was a large green jewel.

* * *

"We found one!"

Bursting back into the library, they were surprised to see both Nunuzac and Esmerelda looking up at them. "_Found one what?_" the teacher asked loudly.

Ren hurried down the stairs. "What are you doing back here?" she asked the Jumi girl.

"I couldn't concentrate," Esmerelda explained. "Found one what?"

"An emerald core." Elazul stepped forward, pulling it from his pocket and handing it over.

Esmerelda stared at the stone in shocked silence, and stayed that was for a long time. "Where was it?" she whispered finally.

"Oh, around…" Ren waved a hand at the door.

Esmerelda's eyes widened. "Did you _steal_ it from someone?"

"Why does everyone ask me that! Do I look suspicious or something?" Ren pointed at Elazul. "It was _his_ idea. Yell at _him_."

"It was in one of the offices over there." Elazul shrugged. "I sensed it only faintly, it was very much a coincidence. I didn't want to risk losing track of it."

"Which office?"

"Hmm, it was a largish one with a view of the gardens…"

"You stole it from the _Headmaster's_ office?" Esmerelda looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or get angry.

"_He'll never notice it's gone._" Nunuzac floated closer. "_Mephianse always has his head in the clouds somewhere. Half of the accumulated junk in there isn't even his, it's just leftovers from former occupants that never bothered to clean up after themselves._" All this caused quite a few irreverent giggles from nearby students.

Elazul looked around nervously. "Can't we discuss this somewhere private?"

"_Don't be so paranoid,_" Nunuzac admonished. "_I would know if there was evil about. Speaking of which…_" He turned to his apprentice. "_These people tell me there is a Jumi-hunter on the loose, rapidly stealing cores. In a more real sense than simply removing them from an office._"

Esmerelda was distracted from her study of the emerald. "A hunter? Here?"

"Perhaps not _here_ precisely," Elazul said. "She was last seen in Polpotoa…but she could be anywhere by now."

"The magic interference around here kept me from noticing my sister's core…but I suppose it would be too much to ask that the other two also be on campus." Esmerelda looked thoughtful. "Surely I wouldn't have missed _two_ so close by."

"_No. They are in the city somewhere, but it would be dangerous for you to go out alone now._"

"Not without a knight," the guardian said sadly. She sent a sidelong, almost hopeful glance at Elazul. Ren frowned.

"I think we've been over this before…"

Elazul, however, didn't seem to hear her. "I could be your knight as well!" he exclaimed.

Esmerelda blinked. "That's kind of…

"_That is inappropriate._"

"What?" Elazul turned towards Nunuzac. "It's not like Pearl and I are…I mean, we're not…"

"_That doesn't matter. Do try to think like an adult for a moment, and not like a boy. Show some loyalty to your guardian!_"

Elazul drew in breath sharply. Ren looked frantically between him and Nunuzac, sensing a storm brewing. Grabbing the Jumi knight by the arm, she dragged him across the room. "El! Think about what you're saying!"

"You're going to tell me how I can't even take care of Pearl, so why should I even think of trying to protect two, aren't you…"

"Actually, I wasn't," Ren snapped. "But obviously _you_ were thinking it, so maybe you should listen to yourself." Elazul visibly bit off his reply and just stood there, glaring at her. "I know you're excited about finding another Jumi…one who thinks she can revive her sisters, who's as determined as you are…but you're not thinking about one thing. Pearl."

"I _am_ thinking about Pearl! I could help them both…"

"That's not what I mean! Think about _Pearl_, about how she _feels_."

Slowly, his eyes softened. Ren plowed on while she was ahead. "I don't know anything about knights and guardians and what kind of…relationship you're supposed to have." She took a deep breath, wondering briefly why she was so stuck on the thought. "But…that's besides the point. I know you care about her in…whatever capacity.

"Pearl's so unsure of herself, El. She feels so useless, so helpless. How could you even _think_ of rubbing that in her face by bringing home a confident, shining guardian like Esmerelda? Think of what that would do to her!"

Elazul looked down and was quiet for a long, awkward moment. "You're right," he said eventually. "You're always right. How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Ren was confused now. She was hardly ever right. Elazul shook his head at her.

"Nothing. Forget it."

Ren tried to think back over her words, wondering if she'd said something she hadn't meant to say. "Even I can't forget something I don't know…"

Sighing and rubbing the back of his neck, Elazul suddenly reached out and flicked her lightly on the forehead. "You give me a headache, you know that?" Turning, he walked quickly back to the others.

Ren hurried after. "What's that supposed to mean…" she started, but was cut off as Elazul pointed at her, bringing her up short.

"She just volunteered."

"_What?_" Esmerelda and Nunuzac said at the same time.

"What did I volunteer for?" Ren looked around frantically.

"She'll be your knight," Elazul said simply. "That way, I can go search in a separate direction. With two of us trying to detect the cores, we'll have better chances."

The two girls looked at each other. "You're insane," Ren stated.

Elazul tilted his head at her. "Why?"

"Well…that is…" Ren realized she couldn't say she was terrified Sandra would show up again. Right up until that moment she would have easily and freely admitted to it, but fixed under Elazul's confident gaze she couldn't bring herself to confess. "Oh damn it all, you're doing this on purpose!"

"Doing what?" he asked, a little evilly.

"Some kind of revenge thing! For lecturing you!"

"So…you won't do it?"

Ren tried to insert a fair amount of murderous frustration into her glare, but it bounced off him like water against a plate. She sighed.

"Do I get a pretty stone, then?"

Elazul pondered this. "Jade maybe, or a decent opal."

Esmerelda looked at them in astonishment. "You're not taking this seriously! Neither of you!"

Ren shot the glare at her instead, then abruptly headed for the door. "Of course we are. Come on, let's get going."

The guardian followed, looking over her shoulder several times. As soon as they were out the door, Ren turned. "Look. It took me ages to get him to open up enough to make _jokes_. So try not to kill the mood, would you?"

"It's not a joking matter! These are my sisters we're talking about!"

"Best time for jokes," Ren retorted. "Otherwise you just end up depressed and can't get anything done."

Esmerelda flushed at that. Ren took it as acquiescence and started walking, the Jumi girl trailing behind her.

"I don't know what mood you're talking about anyway," she said suddenly. "It sounded to me like you were about to go for each other's throats half the time."

Ren blinked, turning to her companion. "Did it?" She pondered the street ahead thoughtfully. "I don't think so…I mean, he's always like that. I've just learned not to take it too seriously." She laughed suddenly. "El doesn't smile much, you know? But I figured out how to tell when he's kidding anyway. It's all in the eyes."

"You call him_ El_?" Esmerelda was still staring at her. "Nicknames are so…juvenile!"

"He seems to have resigned himself to it."

"That doesn't mean he _likes_ it."

Ren shrugged, but doubt had finally succeeded in breaking through her mind. Was he just humoring her? Did it actually bother him? Was she not attributing enough seriousness to what he said? Assuming he was joking when he wasn't? She stopped, overwhelmed by a sudden urge to run back and apologize.

"Now wait a minute…" She turned slowly to Esmerelda. "What precisely are you trying to do here?"

The guardian froze, suddenly looking guilty. "I…that is, I mean…"

"Oh, I see the problem," Ren said with false brightness. "Here you are, a lone Jumi. Then suddenly, this good looking knight walks in, and you're all hopeful, but then you find out he already has a guardian. So you're in a bad mood." She dropped the fake tone. "Don't take it out on _me._"

Esmerelda lifted her chin. "His guardian? I don't know her. I'm not concerned with _her_. I only met him today, what in the world are you trying to imply?"

"Er…" Ren didn't really have an answer to that. Not one that wouldn't end up eventually embarrassing someone. "Just that, if I'm going to be your knight, however unorthodox, we don't need to start off yelling at each other. That's all," she finished rather lamely.

Esmerelda looked stubborn for a moment, then slowly smiled, if in a slightly strained manner. "All right. Truce?"

"Truce." Ren smiled back, wondering briefly what sort of war had just been delayed.

* * *

Wandering back down to the main street, Esmerelda stopped in front of the jewellery store. Ren couldn't help noticing the door was open again. "Closed indeed," she snorted. "I'm tempted to go in and give him a piece of my mind."

"Why don't we? It seems like a good place to start looking…"

"El said the shopkeeper gave him a lecture on Jumi cores. I don't think it's that sort of place. You go in if you want, I'm staying out here. Guy nearly gave me a broken nose with the door last time." She leaned against the wall to wait.

Esmerelda shrugged and entered the shop. Ren passed some time watching people go in and out of the inn across the street. The innkeeper appeared to be a giant teapot very like the one Rachel's family had, which gave Ren a guilty twinge. She'd completely forgotten about looking for the girl in all the fuss over Esmerelda. She was certain she'd seen her at the school, which brought up the very good question of how she'd gotten there ahead of Ren and Viridian.

Thinking of Viridian made her feel even more guilty. The dragon was out scanning roads, and Ren _knew_ Rachel was here and hadn't thought of trying to contact him. Then again, there really wasn't any way _to_ contact him, so...

"Oh well." Esmerelda stepped out of the shop again. "No luck. I don't know why you don't like the proprietor though, he was very nice to me."

Ren raised an eyebrow at her. "Maybe you're his type?"

The Jumi rolled her eyes and didn't bother to respond. "His name is Alex, and he said he hadn't seen any emeralds around lately, but he promised to keep an eye out."

"Well good for you." Ren pushed away from the wall. "Now what?"

"Um…" Esmerelda looked around and fixated on the same inn Ren had been watching. "Let's try over there! Innkeepers see lots of things, right?"

"She's a teapot."

"So? What does that have to do with anything?"

"I just thought I'd warn you so you wouldn't be…" Ren remembered that she was the only one who seemed surprised by that sort of thing and subsided under the girl's confused stare, feeling like an idiot. "Oh look, there she is!" She hurried over to the teapot instead, who was muttering over the plant Elazul had knocked down earlier.

"Hello!" Esmerelda said brightly. The teapot jumped and hit the plant again, sending it crashing back to the ground. Ren sighed and bent to help clean it up, feeling sorry for the thing.

"Perhaps we should take it inside?" she asked. "It's obviously not doing too well out here."

"Oh?" The teapot considered the plant. "No, I suppose not…would you help me lift it?"

Ren had just hefted the pot into her arms when she heard Esmerelda gasp. "Wait!" She ran quickly to the plant and pushed the fronds aside, rummaging in the loose and sadly diminished soil underneath.

"Hey, Esme." Ren shifted her grip. This is heavy, can't it wait until I put it down?"

"Don't call me Es…here!" The Jumi's protest was cut short as she straightened, holding a brilliant green stone in her hand.

"Oh! You found it!" The teapot practically bounced for joy. "A traveler gave it to me for payment a while back and I hid it somewhere, thinking it was too valuable for the cash box… but then I couldn't remember where."

"I know how that goes…" Ren remarked, setting the pot down again.

"I thought it was in a plant, but I searched all the ones inside…I must have forgotten I put this one out for some air…" The teapot held out an arm, obviously waiting for the jewel.

"Oh, no…" Esmerelda clutched it to her chest. "This is mine."

The innkeeper stared at her. "No it ain't, it's mine. Rightful payment. Don't give me any of that 'finders keepers' nonsense, or I'll have the law down here so quick…"

"Hold on, hold on, it's not like that," Ren interrupted quickly. "You see, it's a memento of her dead sister, the only connection left for her. She's been looking for it for years, and to find it suddenly like this…it's a bit of a shock. Makes her kind of rude." She shot a silencing look at Esmerelda before turning back to the teapot. "Maybe there's something we can do for…" she stopped. The teapot had thrown up both arms and was shaking with sobs, great gouts of water spurting up out of her lid.

"Ohhhh!" she wailed. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard! To think something like that was stuck in my plant all this time! I don't think I have water enough for how touching that is!"

The girls watched her, dumbfounded. "Are they all like this?" Ren whispered. She hadn't meant to do more than try to bargain with the teapot. "Mark and Jennifer's is kind of odd too."

Esmerelda shrugged. "So…" She tried to catch the teapot's attention again. "I can keep it?"

"Of course! You poor child! And if you ever need someone to talk to…just to let things off your chest, you tell me. Poor thing!" She went back to crying hysterically.

"Um, I'll do that…sometime…" With a half-hearted wave, both turned and ran down the street.

"Well," Ren commented as they stopped around the corner. "That was quick. Find the other one that fast and we'll be done by sundown."

"It's the magic," Esmerelda explained, stowing the core in her bag. "It heightens the power of coincidences."

"Well that's good! Let's keep moving!"

* * *

Several hours later, their enthusiasm had dimmed considerably. Despite tracking through most of the streets in the city, looking in countless shops, and even knocking on several random doors, they hadn't seen the faintest glimmer of green.

Finally, they stopped to rest on some steps near the city gates. "I guess finding all three was too much to ask, even of coincidences." Esmerelda sighed.

"Mmm." Ren watched the sun sink slowly behind the walls. "Well, there's always tomorrow."

"I was really excited to find them _today_, though."

"Meh, El's been looking for other Jumi for years and I don't think he's had much success. Two in one day is pretty good, if you consider it that way."

Esmerelda frowned. "How many years?"

"I don't know, does it matter?"

"Not really, but I was just thinking, as we were walking. I never saw him before."

"Is that strange? You've been holed up in the magic school here for…"

"No, I never saw him, not even in the…city."

"I don't think he's ever been here before, he was saying something about magicians and Jumi cores."

"No, not Geo. The Jumi city…it's gone now, but once there were a lot of us there. Not so many that we couldn't recognize one another though, which is why I was surprised to see a knight I didn't know, at least by sight. I always thought I was the youngest Jumi left…but now…"

Ren nearly choked. "Are you saying _you're_ older than Elazul?"

"Is that so unbelievable?" Esmerelda glared. "It's because I'm short, isn't it. Look, the signature of his core just feels young…I don't think I can explain it to a non-Jumi. He can't be more than seventy, maybe eighty…"

This time Ren did choke. "You're kidding!"

"No…it's strange though, because Lady Diana put a ban on…"

"I mean, he can't be that old!"

Esmerelda looked up at her. "You _are_ aware of how long we live?"

"Um, someone might have mentioned it at one time…"

The guardian shook her head sadly. "How long have _you_ known him, then?"

"Oh around…" Ren stopped. Standing up, she began pacing along the length of the step she'd been sitting on. Staring at the city wall, she counted stones for a minute, but even the distraction did not lessen the unforgiving blankness in her mind. "Oh _come on_," she whispered, but there was no answer.

"I can't remember," she said, reluctantly.

"That long, huh?"

"No! It wasn't that long!" Ren exclaimed. "I just can't remember! We met at…at…there was a…it had something to do with Rachel. But I've known Rachel for… haven't I? No…it just seems like I've known everyone forever. Does it really matter?" she almost pleaded.

Esmerelda looked confused. "Are you for real?"

Ren looked out across the road leading away from Geo. "I don't know…there's something wrong with me. I don't know anything at all…" She focused on the question abruptly. "What's that supposed to mean, anyway?"

"I just assumed you'd known each other for a long time. It's not often you see anyone else traveling with a Jumi. I thought you were…" She looked at her fingers for a moment. "Close."

"We are! Sort of. I mean, we're friends."

"But you can't remember where or when you met?"

"It's not my fault!" Ren started walking in circles again, still trying desperately to remember. "There's these voices in my head sometimes, I think they take up all the space!"

Esmerelda stared at her. "_Voices?_ Are you…crazy?"

Ren stopped pacing. In her panic over forgetting something important, she'd forgotten how ridiculous it would all sound to someone who didn't know her. "No. I don't think so. I just…have trouble remembering things."

"Recent things?"

"Sometimes."

"Are you going to forget what I look like if we search again tomorrow?"

"No," Ren snapped. "It's not _that_ bad."

"What about this jewel hunter you're supposed to be looking out for, do you remember what _he_ looks like?"

"_She._ It's a woman. And yes, I remember her. Too well."

Something in her voice must have tipped the other girl off, because her eyes narrowed. "Too well? Are you…afraid of her?"

"No!" Ren remembered too late Elazul's words about Jumi and lies. "I mean, a little. You've never met her, or you'd realize..."

"But you're supposed to _protect_ me from her?"

That brought Ren up short. "It was El's idea anyway," she muttered.

"Maybe he's crazy too," Esmerelda stood up. "I've got it, you're _both_ crazy. I've let myself get dragged into this _charade_ with some amnesiac pretending to be a knight, all because some Jumi I don't even _know_ says there's a phantom core-hunter around. Not even 'around', necessarily. She could be _anywhere!_ Now I've had to walk all over this city in a rush trying to find my sisters when I could have taken my time and done it properly!"

"I thought you were in a hurry!" Ren snapped. "You wanted to revive them, remember?"

Esmerelda hissed through her teeth. "I can revive them! I can!"

Obviously there was something going on here that Ren wasn't getting. "I didn't say you couldn't…"

"You were thinking it! You were thinking that I'm just stalling, that I'm afraid I won't be able to…"

Suddenly it clicked. "Oh here we go again, just like earlier. _You're_ thinking those things, _you're _ the one worried about it, and all this was just a drawn-out maneuver to place blame! Don't pass your insecurities on to me! I have enough of my own!"

Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say. Esmerelda stood frozen for a moment, then turned and ran into the city. "I _will_ revive them!" she shouted. "I'll find the last one myself, and I'll revive them myself! _I don't need anyone's help!_"

Ren stood staring after the retreating form until her muddled thoughts caught up with what had just happened. Then she broke into a run. "_Wait!_" Ahead of her, Esmerelda rounded a corner, disappearing into a side alley.

Dodging through street after street, Ren just barely kept the shorter girl in sight. The buildings flashing by reminded her of another chase, in a different city, but she had the horrible sinking feeling that it would end the same way.

The power of coincidences. If the spell could bring the cores to Geo, could it bring the core-hunter as well?

The chase was futile, however. Ren was by far the faster of the pair, but Esmerelda knew the city better. Ducking under overpasses and down narrow side-streets, the guardian was soon far ahead. After several unexpected turns, Ren found herself lost and confused and unsure of what direction her quarry had fled.

By some miracle, she found her way back to the main avenue, now rapidly darkening and empty of people. Leaning against the same pillar she'd met Elazul at, she found herself staring at the jewellery shop, now truly closed for the night.

Elazul. He'd be back at the library by now, he and Nunuzac. She'd have to go back, tell them what had happened. Maybe the three of them together could locate Esmerelda.

Ren urged herself to take this reasonable suggestion, but her body refused to move. What, go back and explain that she'd _lost_ the guardian Elazul had trusted her to protect, because they'd been having a childish argument about…what? Did it even matter? She should have known better, this time it really was all her fault.

Sinking back against the pillar, Ren sighed. Every time she tried to help the Jumi, it seemed to go wrong. Here, in Polpotoa, at…she ran up against a wall. There had been other times, she was sure of it. Hadn't there?

Suddenly the idea of explaining the situation to Elazul seemed far less frightening than standing on a deserted street and realizing how much she couldn't remember. Using this as a new statement in the argument with her quailing conscience, she forced herself to walk up the hill towards the school.

* * *

Quietly opening the door to the library, as if stealth would hide her lack of companion, Ren got halfway down the stairs before the expected question halted her.

"Where is Esmerelda?" Elazul asked, starting from his chair.

Ren rifled through the list of excuses she'd thought up on the way here, but they were all pretty pathetic. "I lost her." A faint hope occurred to her; maybe Elazul, having lost his own guardian multiple times, would be sympathetic enough…

"You_ what?_"

No such luck. Ren thought about pointing it out to him…but she'd been immature enough for one day. "I lost her," she repeated, stepping off the last stair. "We…had an argument, and she ran away. I couldn't keep track. Don't look at me like that! It was all _your_ fault to begin with!" So much for maturity. "Why did you send me out with her when it was obvious she didn't like me! When you _know_ perfectly well that I'd be useless if that _person_ showed up, that…"

"Ren! _Stop it_!" Elazul smacked a hand down on the table next to him. "We don't have time for this! Nunuzac was just telling me he detected a…a presence in the city. Something following the lines of his spell to the cores."

"_I don't know how it's being done. I couldn't track them anymore, but this person is apparently able to use my spell for…_"

"Sandra," Ren whispered, feeling the blood drain from her face. Then she spun around, nearly tripping on the stairs on her way back up. "Where?" she asked, at the door. "Where are they?"

"_Somewhere to the west of here…I suspect the manor-house. It belongs to a woman called Krystie…_"

"I don't care who it belongs to…if the hunter wants in, it doesn't matter in the slightest." Elazul cleared the steps and hurried Ren out the door in front of him.

Neither wasted any time talking as they pelted down the streets, rounding the corner at the jewellery shop and taking the other path up the hill. Towering over the houses ahead of them, the manor was easily recognized. The front gate was locked for the night, but this proved no barrier to the truly determined.

Running to the main entrance, Elazul banged on the door. To Ren's surprise, it opened almost immediately, helped along by a short, dog-faced man with floppy ears and a butler's uniform. Before he could speak, however, a woman's voice rang out from the room beyond.

"More visitors? What a busy night! Do let them in, Sotherbee!"

The butler bowed and waved them through the door, an invitation they took with some haste. Racing into the sitting room, they found it occupied by a elegantly dressed woman and a lot of knick knacks and statuary. Exactly the sort of place to hide a Jumi core, Ren thought.

"Welcome to my home! I am Krystie!" the lady exclaimed, seemingly delighted to see two random uninvited people bursting into her house in the middle of the evening.

"You said visitors?" Elazul wasted no time.

"Well yes, a nice young girl with green hair was here not long ago. She said she was looking for a token of her sister's…a gemstone I believe. I told her she was welcome to look around, in case it was in my storage somewhere. I have _so_ many things, I can't ever keep track of them all…"

"Yes, yes," Ren cut her off. "Is she still here?"

"I believe so…Sotherbee? Where did the young lady go?"

"Downstairs, ma'am, to the old ballroom."

"There you have it," Krystie gestured towards a door to her left. "The stairs are down there, are you friends of hers as well?"

"Yes, friends…" Elazul started towards the door, but Ren hung back.

"What do you mean, 'as well'?"

Krystie looked puzzled. "Oh, I assumed you were all together. A very polite gentleman showed up a few minutes ago, also looking for the young lady. He said they were friends."

"Gentleman?" Elazul looked puzzled.

Ren started to shrug, then paused. "The jewellery shop guy…apparently they hit it off or something. Maybe he had some information and came looking for her?"

"All the way out here? How did he know?"

"Maybe she went and found him after running away from me?" Ren wanted desperately to believe there was someone harmless down there with Esmerelda.

Elazul just looked at her, then as one they ran for the stairs.

* * *

_ Well, a sequence that was supposed to be one chapter is now turning into three. Seriously, I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I've already chopped out huge chunks of stuff I was going to put in, in order to keep this story from turning into a sixty-chapter menace, but it's still growing. It's my attachment to character development (or whatever you want to call it, character stalling perhaps)...once I get people talking, I can't shut them up. -sigh-_


	12. Hidden Reasons

* * *

12 – Hidden Reasons

* * *

The winding stairs led down into a set of dimly lit passageways that hinted at the manor having been built over the remains of something grander and more complex at one time. Now, the stone lined halls were merely repositories for what looked like decades of accumulated rich-person junk. Dusty statues, fading paintings and wooden boxes of all shapes and sizes were piled in a manner that might have been organized before being shifted around every time someone went looking for something.

"El? Can you sense her?" Ren whispered, looking at the branching halls with dismay.

Elazul closed his eyes, but it was unnecessary. Once their footfalls had ceased, voices became audible, coming from around a corner. "There."

They ran again, heedless now of noise. As they rounded the corner, they found themselves treading a short hallway which abruptly opened into a huge domed chamber. Darkened arches lined all sides of the circular space, and above them, stands were arrayed up to the roof, with stairs at regular intervals.

In the center, looking small and lost, was Esmerelda…and Sandra. The Jumi girl was on her knees on the flagstones, hunched over a cluster of three green stones.

"Hold it right there!" Elazul shouted, drawing his sword. Esmerelda didn't look up, but the hunter did.

"Ah, the lapis knight." She didn't seem at all surprised to see him. "Did you get tired of your pearl already? Come looking for a more…interesting partner?" Her gaze flickered beyond him, possibly looking for Pearl, and fell on Ren.

Her expression changed, from calm mockery to shock. "_Why are you still here?_" she hissed.

Ren, who had been braced for an attack, straightened in confusion. Sandra sounded worried, of all things. Slowly, she let a more confident look spread over her face. "I'm not so easy to get rid of," she said airily, sliding her swords out with hands she hoped weren't shaking.

"Apparently not," Sandra sneered, recovering her composure. "I'd better do it right this time." With a sudden quick movement, she gestured at the air in front of her, which exploded with a bang, scattering smoke and dust everywhere. Elazul and Ren dove back under the archway, just as what appeared to be a pillar of rock slammed down where they were standing.

"What the hell was _that?_" Elazul tried to clear the dust from his eyes.

"A giant rock," Ren pointed out helpfully, then stared as the smoke began to settle. "No…look!"

Framed in the archway was a monster. Twice a man's height, it looked vaguely insect-like, with four huge arched legs, one of which had done the stalactite impression as it tried to crush them. It seemed to be covered in bluish grey stone and had no eyes in the tiny head above its neck, but plenty of teeth.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I don't know, I've never seen anything like it in my life."

Ren pondered what Esmerelda had said about how long that might have been, and looked back at the monster. "Well, let's get rid of it," she said, doubtfully.

"It's a moving _rock_!"

"Then you should know all about how to kill it!" Ren snapped. "We have to do _something_!" Without waiting for common sense to catch up with her, she ran back towards the creature. "I'll distract it! Go get Esmerelda!"

"No no no, that's no good." Sandra spoke up from behind the monster. "We're conducting a very important experiment here."

As if responding to a command, the rockbeast swung towards Elazul as he tried to dodge around it. Rearing up, it brought both legs down with a crash that would have broken the foundation of a less solid building. It missed the Jumi by a bit, but the resulting tremor knocked him off his feet. Down at the right level, he swiped his sword at the nearest leg, but it scraped predictably along the surface without leaving a scratch.

"Damn rock," he swore, scrambling to his feet. The monster swung its neck down and took a snap at his head in reply.

Meanwhile, Ren found herself facing the rear of the beast. As it planted itself firmly to raise its legs again, she grabbed hold of a joint and pulled herself up onto its back. Clinging to its middle she hacked at the base of its neck, but it was as impenetrable as the leg had been. Even its joints were armored, and without any eyes…

"There's no place to hit it!" she wailed. The monster, distracted by this noisy thing on its back, gave up on Elazul and swung around. Lacking any suitable handholds, Ren slid off it and onto the floor again, but this time on the other side.

Hearing the monster's teeth snap shut inches behind her, she sprinted towards Sandra, noting that Esmerelda had finally gotten some sense and caught up her sisters' cores, trying to run. The jewel hunter, noting Ren's approach, grabbed her by the arm.

"Not so fast." Sandra swung the girl around, a knife appearing from nowhere. "Don't come any closer," she threatened.

Ren skidded to a halt. "Does it really make a difference? You're going to kill her anyway."

"Then why did you stop?" Sandra asked reasonably. "Besides, I won't kill her…not if she does what she keeps saying she can. Right, little guardian?" She leaned over to breathe in Esmerelda's ear. "Go on, show me that sisterly love."

The Jumi's eyes were wide, but dry. "I…I can't…"

"That's too bad," Sandra tsked. "And here you almost had me convinced." She raised the knife, and Ren started forward again, only to be swept off her feet and flung through the air. Her swords flew from her hands and clattered somewhere far away as she hit the stones with mind-numbing force.

Dazed, she looked up to see the monster looming over her, having knocked her back as it came. Beyond its legs she could see Sandra, Esmerelda, and... "Elazul! Now!" The knight saw the opening and charged the hunter, who flung her hostage aside just in time to block with both knives.

Hissing in frustration, Sandra retreated, dodging Elazul's sword as he advanced. Nearby, Esmerelda was trying to gather up the cores dashed from her hands when she fell. "Forget them!" Elazul yelled at her. "Just run!"

Esmerelda looked up and shook her head. "What's the point?" she asked. "If I can't revive them, there's no point!" She knelt there, looking very much like she wanted to cry, but of course she couldn't. "There's nothing left for me!"

Sandra watched her impassively, seeming to not even think about the fight she was engaged in. Ren tried to get to one of her swords while the hunter was distracted, but the monster lashed out at her again, and she hit the wall even farther away. Sliding to the floor she could hear the beast approaching and tried to blink the spots away from her eyes.

"Hmm," she heard Sandra muse over the sounds of metal against metal. "How good are you at split second decisions, boy?" Ren's vision cleared in time to see her grin at Elazul. "Finish her!" she shouted, before leaping backwards and dashing for Esmerelda.

Ren heard a crackling sound overhead. Looking up, she could see the rockbeast's mouth open and a white light coalesce inside. She tried to roll to one side, but it brought a leg down and cut off her retreat. The light flared so bright she shut her eyes…

…and nothing happened. She could still hear the crackling sound, but that was all. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes again.

Elazul was standing between her and the monster, sword raised. The light hit the blade and splashed in all directions like a waterfall. For a moment the beam intensified, trying to break through this new obstacle, but it failed and soon trickled off and disappeared. The creature stood there, mouth hanging open as if shocked. Ren stared back at it.

"_Move!_" Elazul's voice jolted her out of her shock, and she slid out from behind him, catching up one of her swords as she went. Sandra was not far away, grinning widely as she held up _four_ green stones to catch the light before stowing them away.

"Interesting choice," she said. "I doubt it would have changed the outcome either way, but it is _fascinating_ nonetheless."

Ren didn't waste time speaking, merely put on much speed as she could and flung herself at the woman. Her sword slammed into Sandra's hasty defense with a force akin to the stone monster's. "_I'm going to kill you_," she spat out, and struck again.

Sandra stumbled backwards, this time not of her own volition. Her knives flashed with their usual speed, but Ren blocked each in turn. Pressing forward, she lunged with her sword on a direct line for the other's heart. Twisting, Sandra deflected the attack, but blood spattered the floor anyway and one of her knives dropped to the ground.

With a desperate shove, the hunter managed to break away and ran across the floor, clutching her arm. Ren tried to pursue, but a stomping and crackling behind her snagged her attention. Turning she saw the monster barreling towards her, apparently tired of Elazul, who she could see running behind it.

It drove its head downward, preparing to unleash the beam at a closer range, but Ren had seen something there the last time that screamed significance into her brain. Gripping her weapon, she stabbed it forward into the open mouth. The beast's momentum carried it forward, giving the sword the force needed to bury itself inside.

Ren stood there, still gripping the hilt as the rest of the creature crashed to the ground behind the head. She twisted and pulled at the blade and it came free, bringing with it a large glowing orb impaled on the end. Vaguely reminiscent of a Jumi core, the orb flickered and died, and all at once the whole monster disintegrated in a shower of sparks.

By the time the sparks cleared, Sandra was gone, fled through one of the archways. "Which way did she go?" Ren asked Elazul, who was picking himself up from where the rockbeast's death had thrown him. He shook his head, then pointed at the floor.

"Blood."

Following the trail through one of the archways, it gave out in seconds. The cloth covering one of the abandoned statues had been pulled aside and a large strip torn off it. Obviously Sandra had taken the time to tie off her wound. Ren and Elazul stood, listening, but no sounds could be heard. They both knew how fast the hunter could move; there was no point in trying to follow her further.

Ren slumped against the uncovered statue, unable to comprehend for a moment what had just happened. The first emotion to break through the accumulated shock was guilt, and that was sufficiently strong to send her sliding down the pedestal to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face in them.

"Are you hurt?" Elazul asked. His tone, blunt and unconcerned, made Ren look up. He was still staring down the hallway, and he looked furious. Logic told her she wasn't the target of that rage, but logic was a weak voice at the best of times.

"It's all my fault!" she blurted out, scrambling to her feet again.

Elazul glanced at her, but only briefly, and without a change of expression.

The faint hope that he was going to disagree with her dissipated like smoke in the wind. She took a deep breath, feeling tears boiling up somewhere deep in her throat, and trying to keep them down. "I was supposed to protect her, but all we did was argue. I shouldn't have let myself get drawn into it, but I did. I know now…it was because she was worried. All she wanted was to bring her sisters back, and she was worried she couldn't, and taking it out on me…and all I did was yell at her and now…"

"What were you arguing about?"

Ren saw him finally focus on her, and shrank back. She knew what they'd been arguing about, and there was no way she could tell him, not now. She looked away, over the floor, across the wall, anywhere. "I…can't remember."

Elazul froze. His hands clenched and unclenched a couple of times. "Don't…" he hissed. "Lie to me!"

"I can't! I can't tell you!" Ren couldn't seem to reconcile the person who had saved her life at the cost of another's moments earlier, and the barely contained volcano she was looking at now.

The reason didn't matter now. Not the reason they'd been arguing, the reason Esmerelda had _died_, because one stupid, absentminded person didn't know when to keep her mouth shut, because she'd been all defensive over something she didn't even understand herself. It had all been her fault, and Elazul knew it, and she knew it, and there was no way she could tell him _why_.

"I _trusted_ you!" he shouted, slicing a hand through the air. "I trusted you to protect her, and now she's gone and you're _lying_ to me about it!"

Ren took a step backward; she couldn't handle this. She'd thought she was ready to take the blame, but deep down inside she hadn't actually expected him to hand it over. "What about _you?_" The words slipped out. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe you put that trust in wrong place? You're the one who _insisted_…" One hand flew to her mouth, blocking the rest.

For a moment a guilt to mirror her own fought with the fury in Elazul's face, then he spun away angrily. "You should leave," he said abruptly.

"What?"

"You should leave. Go home, just…forget about cores and Jumi and Jumi-hunters. Forget about us. It's not your problem and it never was. I never should have let you get this far into things," he continued flatly. "It's not your fault, it's mine. For letting you get _involved_."

Ren lowered her hand. "No…" she whispered, but couldn't get beyond that.

"This is how it always ends," Elazul whispered to the darkness. "This…it doesn't matter _what_ you or I do, this is how it ends. Every. Single. Time. There's no point in your concerning yourself with it anymore! Just _go._"

"You're wrong," Ren said finally, staring at his back. "It didn't have to end like this, but it did…because of me." Everything she tried to help with broke…everything she could remember…and how much couldn't she remember that Elazul could? "Perhaps…" she stammered. "Maybe you should have saved Esmerelda instead, back there."

For a moment she thought she saw him stiffen, but when he spoke it was the same dead voice he'd been using all along. "Maybe I should have."

Ren wanted to scream at him then, but she couldn't. "I know," was all she choked out past the sharpness in her throat. "_I know_." Brushing past him, she ran for the stairs. For a moment only silence followed her, then, abruptly, the clattering sounds of someone going from a standstill to a dead run in seconds.

"_Ren!_" She slowed her pace in shock; the tone in his voice was pure panic. A hand caught her wrist and spun her around, jerking her arm in its socket. Elazul grabbed her by both shoulders and shook her. "Stop! Stop it right now!"

"Stop what?" she gasped, rattled.

"Are you crying?"

Ren looked up at him, bewildered. "No." She certainly wasn't going to admit to it.

He let go of her, stepping back. "You can't," he said in a strange voice. "Ever cry."

"_Why?_ I know this has all been my…I know you probably hate me right now, but you can't expect me not to…" Ren tried to get a hold of herself and failed again. "Not all of us can be as stone-hearted as you!" she snapped.

Elazul looked like he was going to reach for her again, but dropped his hand quickly as she glared at him. "Listen to me! You can't cry for the Jumi. Those who do, die. They turn to stone. It's why-"

"What?" Ren shook her head, about to yell at him for making stupid excuses, but stopped as a memory surfaced unbidden.

_You're far too emotional, I can see it in your eyes. You'd make a lovely statue, but aren't there better ways to spend your life?_

Ren drew in breath, feeling slightly dizzy. "No, that's what Sandra said…she said…but that's ridiculous!"

"It's not. Ever since the Jumi lost their own tears, it seems we have to take others' as well. It's why we've always distanced ourselves," Elazul was speaking quickly now, as if trying to stave off the unwanted tears by sheer vocabulary. "Why we don't have friends. It's why I've always tried…I…"

"I said it's impossible!" Ren broke in. Always so cold, so distant. Could it be, the whole time, he was afraid of… "Have you ever seen it happen?"

"No, but…I don't want you to be the first!" Elazul concluded in a rush.

Ren's mind went completely blank at that, there was absolutely nothing she could think of to say. It explained everything…how he acted, why people hated the Jumi. "It can't be," she said softly. "You're just saying things now…it's too much happening at once. We're both a little…distraught. You know? We should get out of here, go back someplace where there's room to think. Come on," she pleaded, trying to be reasonable. "Let's just get out of here…"

Elazul stayed where he was. "You have to believe me."

"But…"

_It's true._

The voice in her head caused Ren to jump. She looked around wildly, searching for the source, and her eyes fell on the statue she had been leaning against. A faint glow was radiating from it, illuminating the features clearly. It was a woman, proud and tall, dressing in flowing robes and a crowning headdress.

"A talking statue?"

_The spirit of light allows me to communicate. Your presence has awakened him._

So it was another spirit. "My presence?"

_Yes. Retrieve the spirit and return me to my rest. I have no desire to bear witness to any more such scenes._

"What scenes?" Elazul interrupted, knocking her hand back as Ren started to reach for the statue.

_Your insistence on spreading the curse of the Jumi,_ the voice was calm, distant. _Let her go and be on your way. There are enough statues here already._

"What…all these are…?"

_Mere decoration. I was not speaking literally._

"I was trying to stop it from happening!"

_You only make it more likely._

"Now look, who do you think you are…" Elazul took a step forward.

_I have nothing to discuss with you, lapis knight,_ the statue interrupted coldly. _I was talking to the other one._

Ren backed away from the statue. "Wait, tell me about this…curse. I don't understand."

_It is not important. Explaining it to you will not change anything._

"It would help me a lot." The voice remained silent. "Fine. I'm not going to retrieve the spirit or whatever you said, until you tell me."

The statue's expression could not change of course, but the voice took on a slightly hotter tone. _You do not know what you are getting involved in._

"You know what, two people keep telling me that. One of them I want to kill, and the other I at least want to hit with something. _Are you trying to make it three?_ Statues can be broken, you know." Ren knew she was bordering on hysterical, but really didn't care at the moment. "I will get _involved_ with whatever I damn well please! It's my life, even if I can't remember most of it-"

"I know who you are!" Elazul suddenly exclaimed. Ren looked at him in confusion before realizing he wasn't talking to her. "You're Diana, of the jeweled city."

Silence. Then, finally, _I was._

"Who?" asked Ren.

"Diana. She was a Jumi, in fact, the leader of the Jumi. Self-styled leader that is." He waited, probably for a response from the statue, but none came. "She called all the Jumi to a city, supposedly to protect them, but instead it turned into a prison. None were allowed to leave, or to have children…it was a tomb, meant to seal us away until the last one died."

Now Diana did retort, but only softly. _Don't speak of things you know nothing about._

Ren was listening with mingled horror and fascination. "Sealed away? To protect them from hunters? To protect others from them? So as not to turn to stone?" She hugged her shoulders. "I still don't understand. Why?"

_There is nothing to understand. What he said is correct. You should take the spirit and leave._

"I didn't mean…" Elazul hesitated. "_You_ have no business telling her that."

"Stop it, both of you! Don't talk about me like I can't hear you!" Ren shouted. "I'm not stupid, I just don't understand this. It makes no sense!" She felt the tightness in her chest start again. Elazul moved toward her.

"Ren…"

"Shut up. I'm not crying. I'm _fine. _It just seems so…strange. Everything seems set up to keep you from…from…anything. It's as if the world is out to get you. It's not fair, El…it's not…"

"Life isn't fair," he said sharply.

"Don't give me that! There must be some _reason_…"

_A thousand years ago, the mana tree burned,_ the voice interjected. _And with it, all mana diminished. Those races that were the most dependent on it diminished as well. The dragons, the faeries, the mana clan itself, that gathered at the tree in it's height, all found different ways of supporting themselves. I do not know them all, but the Jumi survived by crystallizing their souls, conserving mana within. They sought to share with other, less fortunate beings, and shed tears of healing to aid them. _

_This mana was not infinite though, and as the Jumi healed others, their own lives diminished and they began to die. Desperate to gain control of the mana fading from the world, many people began to kill the Jumi and steal their cores, seeking the power before it could be used up as tears._

_And so, the Jumi closed their hearts and ceased to cry. They drew away from others, sealed themselves in a city of jewels, where none came, and none cared. There they circled the Clarius, the last Jumi with the power of tears, and clung to her and made her as a new goddess…sending out the power of mana that all had lost…_

Diana broke off suddenly. For a moment the underground treasury was dead silent, as if mourning the eventual end of such a 'goddess'.

_I digress._ The spirit's voice spoke again. _The power of mana is the power of love, the bond that links people together. Sealed within those cores without hope of release, it pulls other mana to it. When you cry, you open a path to the love within you, the tiny spark of mana that exists within every being, and it is drawn out and consumed. Without that spark, the soul is unbound and flees, leaving behind only a statue, an empty shell for a warning to those who come after._

The statue fell silent again. Ren stood staring at it for a long time, trying to comprehend what it had said. "Wait! But…even if I had been crying…even if just now…" she glanced at Elazul and looked away quickly. "I was angry, blaming myself. Surely that's not the same as…"

_When a heart breaks, no matter the reason, it gives off love. When you cry for another person, whether from anger, frustration, regret…all strong emotions, even hatred, pain, are rooted somewhere in love. _

"Oh," Ren stared hard at a point in the air that wasn't really anywhere at all. She didn't want to think about the implications there, not right now. Instead, she thought about Esmerelda. She had loved her sisters, had wanted more than anything to bring them back, but it hadn't been enough.

_That is why…there is no hope for the Jumi._

Ren jumped at that, the sudden ultimatum coming as if Diana had read her thoughts. "What? Why?"

_Because we have lost the ability to care for others, and those who care for us die. _Diana spoke as calmly as she had the whole time._ This cycle is an abomination that should be removed from the world._

"I don't believe that," Elazul snapped. "I'm not going to stand here and listen to this, not after what just happened to Esmerelda."

_After what just happened is exactly the time to realize the futility of…_

"Shut up! Just because you failed in _your_ attempt to fix things, doesn't mean you can condemn mine! I may not be as old as you, or have seen as much, but I've seen enough to know that nothing is gained by simply _giving up_!"

_You know nothing of my 'attempt', lapis knight. You were never in the jeweled city, your parents left before you were born._

"They told me they left because they disagreed with what you were doing. They left to find _hope_…"

_And where did that search take them?_

Elazul stood fuming for a moment, then dragged his sword from its scabbard in a clumsy, furious movement and slashed at the statue with bone-breaking force. The blade scraped along the stone with a horrible high pitched noise, leaving a long scratch behind it. The pale glow flickered briefly, but did not fade.

_Now you will draw your sword on your own kind? Do you see what has become of our people?_

"Elazul! Stop!" Ren latched onto his arm, dragging it down. "You don't have to listen to her. Look!" Elazul tried to shake her off, but she clung tighter. "She said when the love is drawn out of a person, they turn to stone. Look at her…she has sealed her own heart, removed her emotions."

Letting go, she sank to the floor, breathing heavily. "No matter what you said to me before, I know you still have hope. Why else would you be angry about it? You know what you believe in. Don't listen to a _rock_ who has shut herself off from the world."

Getting to her feet, Ren caught his gaze and held it. "You're alive. Pearl is alive. As long as there's life, there's hope right? You can still find others. We'll catch Sandra and stop her. _It's_ _not over yet._"

Slowly, the Jumi knight sheathed his sword. Only then did Ren turn back to the statue. "I'm still confused," she said. "But it doesn't matter. I don't need any more of _your_ explanations." Reaching out, she laid a hand on the stone of the woman's skirt.

The faint glow brightened until it was nearly blinding, and then died. For a moment, the image of a wispy, smoky being hung in the air above Diana's head, then it too faded, leaving the hallway dark again.

Ren waited, but no more voices spoke. Had she done the right thing? Was Diana still locked in that stone, or was she gone forever with the removal of the spirit? Had she effectively killed another Jumi?

Lowering her hand, she walked slowly towards the stairs, the darkness of that thought threatening to overwhelm her. At the bottom step she whirled back. _Don't make me go alone. I can't deal with this alone, I need someone to back me up. Don't you?_ She wanted to say it out loud, but her throat was dry and tired, and one word was all she could manage. "Coming?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.

Elazul didn't answer, but he took a step forward, then another, and ran to catch up. They ascended the stairs silently, but together.

* * *

At the top, they found the little butler, Sotherbee, passed out at the top. He seemed uninjured, merely unconscious. Carrying him into the front room, they found the lady of the house, similarly out.

"Thank goodness," Ren said.

"She seems determined not to hurt anyone not directly involved." Elazul laid Krystie carefully on a couch. "It doesn't seem to fit with…everything else."

Ren didn't have an answer to that. "Maybe we should wait until they wake up. Apologize."

Elazul shrugged. "I'd rather get out of here. We should…"

A horrible crashing sound was heard from outside the manor. Suddenly Krystie's eyes flew open and she sat up.

"What happened?" The lady asked, then jumped as the clattering came again. "And what is that _noise_?"

"I don't know!" Elazul started for the door, drawing his sword again. Flinging it open, they could hear the vocal accompaniment to all the banging.

"_Reeeeeeeeennnnn!_"

"Viridian?" Ren scrambled away from the couch and ran outside.

The dragon was clinging to the gate, rattling it in its socket and yelling at the top of his lungs. Even as she watched, he gave an extra lunge and one of the hinges separated from the wall.

"Ahhh! Viri! Stop! Get down right now!" She ran forward, waving her arms. The dragon peered at her, then swiftly abandoned the tortured gate and slammed into the ground in front of her.

"_I have your mail._"

Ren slid to a halt in front of him. "What?" Of all the things she'd been expecting to hear…

"_Your mail. I ran into one of those mail-birds over the road._"

"You didn't eat it, did you?" Elazul asked, hurrying up.

Viridian looked at him with disdain. "_No. Not quite._"

"Not _quite?_" Ren gasped. "Viri, tell me that bird is still in one piece."

"_Yeeeeees._" The dragon brought his head down to eye level and whined sadly."_I was _joking_. I thought you _liked_ jokes._"

Ren sighed. "Not right now, Viri, _please_. What's so important about this letter that you had to come barging all the way into the city to give it to me?"

Viridian thrust a rather battered envelope at her. "_Read it yourself._"


	13. Revelations

_**Starlight:**_ _I'm glad you liked Diana! Er…her characterization I mean. I never liked the character either, even with what little screen-time she got…but she makes a great plot device. And a really good coat rack. ;)_

* * *

13 – Revelations

* * *

_Dear Ren,_

_Pearl said you went to Geo, so hopefully this pelican can find you before too long. Rachel is home safe, please don't worry. Apparently she only went to Lumina…it's not the first time she's run away in a huff. She apologized and said it won't happen again. I hope you haven't been too frantic. Try to enjoy the city while you're there, Geo is a lovely place._

_ --Jennifer_

"So, allowing time for the pelican to fly…she must have returned home before you even got to Geo."

Ren looked up at Elazul, who had been reading over her shoulder. "Well, that can't be right."

"Why not?"

"Because. I _know_ I saw her here, at the school!"

"How much do you really want to stake on your observational skills?"

Ren crumpled the letter into a tight ball and threw it at him. "My _observational_ skills are just fine!"

Elazul rubbed his forehead where the paper had bounced off. "Fine, fine. You saw her. So who's back in Domina then?"

"Maybe it's a forgery?" Ren picked the letter back up and smoothed it out. "Not that I really know what anyone's handwriting looks like."

"Why would someone forge it?"

"I don't _know_, El. It just doesn't make _sense_. I can't _think_ right now!" She punctuated each word with a frustrated tear to the page, until she had a handful of tiny scraps, which she threw at Viridian.

The dragon blew them aside, sending bits of white dancing all over the lawn. "_What did I do?_" he asked.

Elazul sighed. "Nothing. You didn't do anything. Ren…" he started, turning back to her, but was interrupted by a loud gasp. All three looked towards the manor.

Krystie was standing in the doorway, looking astonished at the large green dragon gracing her lawn. "What's going _on_ here?"

Ren hurried towards her. "Don't worry! Don't worry! He's harmless."

"_Am not_."

"Shut _up_, Viri," she hissed over her shoulder. "He really is. He just came to deliver my mail."

"What's wrong with pelicans?" Krystie asked faintly, still gaping at Viridian. Then she looked around again. "What happened to the other girl? I thought you were here to get her?"

Ren tried to think of something to say, but Elazul broke in. "She teleported back to the magic school. She's a student there."

"Oh." Krystie seemed satisfied with that answer. "I'm assuming that other person is the one who knocked us out then?"

"Yes…she's gone now. I apologize for the inconvenience," Elazul continued. "If there's anything we can do…"

"No…no harm done. I do enjoy visitors. Do…come again sometime." Looking a bit dazed still, the lady disappeared into the house. Elazul stood staring at the closed door in silence.

"Teleported," Ren said suddenly.

Elazul turned. "What else was I supposed to tell her? She didn't look as though she had the brain power to understand anything _complicated_."

"No, no…_teleported_, El. Teleported."

"Did I say it wrong or something?"

"Teleported!" Ren repeated, then gathered her thoughts into more than one word. "That's how she got here ahead of me! And how she got back so fast!"

Elazul considered that. "I'm no expert on magic, but…that seems to be an advanced sort of spell. How could she possibly know how to do it?"

"I don't know! Do _I _look like an expert on magic?"

"This means we're going back to the school, doesn't it."

"Of _course_ we're going back to the school."

"Nunuzac will be waiting."

Ren flinched, but turned resolutely and started walking. "Well. He deserves to know, doesn't he?"

Viridian hovered over their heads the whole way back to the magic school. Ren would have told him to go away, but it was dark, there was no one around to see him anyway, and she found his presence comforting. If Sandra showed up again, she was going to get a face-full of dragonfire.

Sandra did not, however, show up, and Ren didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved. Elazul kept looking back over his shoulder as they entered the school courtyard; he looked definitively disappointed.

"I don't think she'll face us again until she's _really_ prepared," Ren said, trying to get him to stop. "You're making me nervous."

"If you're sure she won't show up, why would it make you nervous?" he countered. "I was hoping she'd try to attack again us _now_, while she's wounded."

"I really don't think she's _stupid_, you know."

Elazul was prevented from replying by Viridian landing noisily between them. "_Did something happen?_" he asked Ren, ignoring the Jumi now out of view behind him. "_Is it that hunter again? Want me to find her?_"

"No." Elazul circled around the dragon. "Last thing we need is you tearing up _more_ of the city. I'm glad that Krystie person didn't see the mess you made of her gate."

Viridian blinked slowly at him, then turned deliberately to Ren. "_Want me to find her?_" he repeated.

"No!" Ren snapped. "No. Just…stay here and guard the door. If she shows up, by all means eat her." Viridian seemed to agree with that, and settled down watchfully.

"Can he not hear anything I say, or does he just hate me?" Elazul asked, opening the door.

Ren sighed. "I don't know. I don't care. He's staying put, isn't that what matters right now?" Giving a last glance to the dragon, she entered the library.

* * *

"_The power of coincidence_," Nunuzac mused. "_I suppose I should have realized that if the spell could bring the cores here, it could bring the hunters as well_."

Ren had been waiting for some kind of explosion, but the professor seemed unfazed. Only the oddly low tone of his voice betrayed any sort of emotion. Perhaps he too was feeling guilty for ever casting the spell in first place?

"I'm sorry…" Ren started.

"_It's not your fault!_" the plate boomed, recovering his voice. Both Ren and Elazul took a step back.

"I'm still sorry," she insisted.

"_Sorry? Sorry? Sorry won't fix anything, and you _are_ going to have to fix it._"

"What?" Elazul exclaimed. "You just said it wasn't our fault…but we have to fix it?"

"_Who else?_" The glass circle loomed. "_Isn't that what you're trying to do, knight? Fix the Jumi?_"

"_Find_ the Jumi," Elazul corrected. "We're not broken."

"_Aren't you?_" Nunuzac asked slyly, then drifted back as Elazul put a hand on his sword hilt. "_Okay, not broken. Ungrounded, how's that? Lacking_."

Elazul lowered his hand, staring at the floor. "Lacking I can accept."

"_Good. Learned some restraint have we?_" Nunuzac chortled, then slid closer to him. "_Find the Sword of Mana_," he practically whispered.

Something inside Ren jumped at that. _Listen! Listen!_ A voice hissed. _Listen!_

_Listen!_

Stumbling, she sat down in a chair, gripping the seat as if it would try to throw her off. No one noticed. Elazul and Nunuzac seemed locked in a sudden staring contest. "How do you know about that?" the Jumi asked.

"_I am a professor of magic, it is my job to know things_."

"I meant, how do you know that I…"

Nunuzac interrupted. "_I told you, out here in the world of dreams, I see things_._ It hovers over your head like a beacon._ _You are correct to seek it._"

"Do you know something about it, then?" He gripped the edge of the plate. "How I can find it? Use it?"

"_I can tell you nothing, except that it is real, that you must find it, and that it is the only hope for saving your people_."

Elazul turned away. "I knew that already."

"_No, you have been told that already, which is not the same as knowing it, or believing it._"

"And yet, you offer me nothing but vague assurances and a myth to go by. Why say anything at all?"

"_You seemed to need a reminder._"

"I've had enough reminders today," Elazul snapped, and stormed out of the library, slamming the door behind him.

Ren watched Nunuzac for a moment, but he merely tilted slightly away from the door, indifferent. She was about to ask what that was all about, when she realized that Elazul was now outside, in a bad mood, with Viridian, pinnacle of tact and restraint. That sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Standing up quickly, she started for the door as well.

"_Let him be. I wish to speak to you._"

Ren looked back. "I really should…"

"_Listen to me!_"

Ren swallowed her protest and waited, remembering the voices. Nunuzac drifted closer in the same conspiratorial manner he'd used before. "_The world is fragmenting, breaking into pieces. Figuratively, of course,_" he added as his audience looked around at the apparently stable room.

"_The bonds between places, things, people are weakening. The force of mana that once held them tightly together has faded slowly but surely. At many points in time, this fading has been hastened, actively disrupted by the power struggles of mages, humans, faeries, kingdoms, artificers…summoners like myself_.

"_Yes, I once was a practitioner of that art. I reached between dimensions and called out whatever I deemed useful at the time, with no thought of consequences. Until one day I summoned a force too strong, and the backlash sucked me into the circle, left me stranded in the world beyond…a world of dreams, where I can watch but not touch, analyze but not influence._

"_From out here I can see the world, and it is dying. The cracks are widening, and what mana is left is leaking into the void. It is only a matter of time before something is drawn to the holes…perhaps something has already. I cannot tell_."

Ren waited a bit more, but he didn't continue. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"_I have spoken of my concerns to other magicians, but they ignore me. Look, they say, magic still works, how can mana be fading? They don't notice the magic diminishing, because they are lessened themselves. They no longer have the scope of vision to see what I see, so I have ceased to tell them._

"_But you…you're different. Where you stand, the edges draw together, the severed strands reattach. Slowly, only slightly, but…you are the only person I've seen, in all the years I've watched the world from outside, that has this effect._

Ren looked down at the floor beneath her feet automatically before realizing that he was still speaking in some deep, figurative sense. "But I'm not doing anything!"

"_You are, even if you don't know it. That is why I chose to tell you what I thought I'd never bother to explain again. Because I think you can seal the break, fix it, heal it._"

"How?"

"_I do not know_."

"That's not very helpful."

Nunuzac glanced at the door. "_It is all I can tell you. It's up to you to figure out the rest. That is where the Sword of Mana came in, if your friend had been willing to listen for a minute. If you can find the Sword, legend says, you can bring back the tree. If you can bring back the Tree, you can seal the breach. If the world is healed, the power of Mana returns full force_."

Ren figured she should be used to being utterly confused and overwhelmed by now, but it just wasn't so. "I don't understand…how do I do that? It's too much…"

"_Then let me narrow it down some for you_." Nunuzac flared now, glowing brightly from within. "_If you bring back the true power of Mana, the Jumi will cry again, and if the Jumi cry again,_ _you can bring back my APPRENTICE!_"

The volume of his words rose steadily until the last came out as a roar that shook the shelves, knocking books to the floor. Ren backed away, nearly falling over a table leg. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, but I can't…"

"_Can't? Have you even TRIED? Do you even know what you are capable of?_"

"No I don't! And you just said _you_ don't! And I _have _tried! All I've done so far is screw things up!" She stopped, covering her face with one hand. "I don't understand! I don't _understand_, do you hear me? Why me?"

"_Because you're the only one who can!_" Nunuzac bellowed.

"The world is doomed then, because _I don't know how!_" Ren shouted back.

"_Don't pitch a fit at me!_" the plate hissed. "_I'm merely relaying what information I have. If you wish to ignore it, then by all means ignore it_. _Just like everyone else. Why should I care? I'm no longer part of the world you so casually dismiss_." With that, the professor turned away, disappearing into the darkest corner of the shelves.

Ren stood in the empty room, staring into the shadows. "I'm not…I want to help…" she floundered, then gave up and stalked up the stairs. Once out of the library, she whistled to Viridian. The dragon turned toward her. Fuming to herself, she headed straight for the gate.

Elazul detached himself from the tree he'd been leaning against and matched her pace. "What did he say to _you_?"

"Same crap he wanted to say to you, apparently, but you were smart and _left_. I am _so_ sick of people 'explaining' things that only make it worse! I hate this city. I want to go back to Domina, where things make _sense._"

Elazul frowned. "How do you know it was the same-"

"Because he _said_ so!" Ren snapped at him. "I don't want to talk about it!" she cut him off sharply before he could ask anything else.

"Well fine." Elazul recoiled a bit. "Neither do I."

"Good."

They made it back to the main street in silence. Viridian floated overhead like a ghost, the city streets were empty, there wasn't even any wind to bang shutters or rustle trees. The quiet threw the turmoil of Ren's thoughts into sharp relief, and she was rapidly becoming lost in them when someone grabbed her arm, bringing her up short.

One hand flew to her waist for a weapon, the other swinging to knock the unknown hand aside, when Elazul let go and stepped back quickly. "The inn's over there," he said by way of explanation, pointing.

Ren wiped her hands on her skirt in embarrassment, looking around self-consciously. Viridian was sniggering softly. She ignored him. "I don't need an inn. I want to leave."

"You want to sleep. I'm not carrying you back to Domina if you pass out on the road." Elazul said, walking towards the inn despite her protests.

"_I'll carry her,_" Viridian said smugly.

Elazul snorted, looking over his shoulder. "Your dragon needs to sleep too, look at him."

Ren glanced at Viridian. He pulled himself up quickly, glaring at Elazul, but he had definitely been listing in the air. How long had he flown, looking for Rachel, before hurrying back to find her with the letter? Whatever force kept him in the air still took energy, she knew, however it worked. Of _course_ he was tired.

"He's right, Viri," she said, earning her a disgusted look from the dragon. "I bet you can sleep on the roof…"

Viridian shook himself a bit, but didn't actually protest again. Instead he floated up to the roof and scanned it briefly. "_I'm fine_," he insisted, even as he settled into place. "_But if you're staying…_" His head disappeared behind the edge of the building.

Ren sighed and looked at Elazul, waiting for her at the entrance. "Go on," he said as she walked up. "Deny that you're tired."

"I'm tired," she admitted, and it was true, now that she'd stood still long enough to realize it. She followed Elazul up the stairs to the top floor and waited while he unlocked one of the doors. "Wait a minute."

"Hmm?"

"That's _your_ room."

"So?"

What kind of answer was that, Ren wondered, but the idea of sleep had fixated itself in her brain and suddenly she didn't feel like delving into the myriad of embarrassing possibilities this presented. "I…er…I'll get my own."

"Innkeeper's asleep by now."

"It's her job, isn't it?"

"You have any money? This place wasn't cheap."

Ren didn't need to feel her belt-pouch to answer that. "Well…no." Elazul continued to hold the door open impatiently. "Fine then, but I get the bed."

"You think I'm going to make you sleep on the floor?"

Ren tilted her head, considering this. "You might."

Elazul rolled his eyes at her and pointed at the bed. "Sleep."

"You're getting as bad as Lisa," Ren muttered. Unbuckling her sword belt, she removed the scabbards and set them on the bed before crawling under the blankets. Laying one hand lightly on a hilt gave her the slight bit of comfort needed to drift off into sleep.

* * *

The world of dreams that Nunuzac spoke of was not so easy to dismiss, however. Unspoken fears and worries took shape there and crowded around her with forms that were vague and unrecognizable, but no less terrifying. They spoke in whispers, tugged at her clothes, tried to prove that they were real with hands and teeth and claws that almost connected, but not quite.

She flailed wildly, striking out at things that had no substance, until a bright light formed in front of her, scattering the rest. After a blinding moment, it dimmed a bit, revealing the spirit she'd seen briefly above the stone Diana's head.

"Who are you?"

_I am Wisp_, it said. _The spirit of Light._

"And…those things?"

_The delusions of a troubled mind. They are not real, this is not real. You are dreaming…I find it easier to talk in dreams._

Ren blinked, or would have if she'd been awake. "One of you will finally talk to me?"

_Most of the spirits are not…capable of communicating so directly. Or not willing. Or not strong enough. I have often been the…speaker for the spirit world._

"Is that why you spoke for Diana as well?" Ren's heart leapt at a chance to finally ask all the questions that had been bothering her, to get some _answers._

_It doesn't matter. _Wisp seemed nervous, if that was possible. _I came out to say something, and say it I must and quickly. The trapped summoner spoke the truth. You have a purpose in this world, at this time, and you must accomplish it._

The delight at having one of the spirits finally speak to her blew away like a leaf in the wind. "I told him, I don't know how."

_Nevertheless, you cannot simply ignore it. You are caught between two stones. In front, that which threatens the world from outside, which can only be stopped by the power within you. Behind, the darkness that seeks to strip you of that power for its own uses._

"What darkness?"

_The longer you delay, the closer it comes. Either you must run ahead of it to the end, or you must turn and face it. If you continue to do nothing, you will be crushed between them._

"What darkness?" Ren repeated, strained now. The light in front of her seemed to be fading, and all at once a spot of black appeared in the middle of it, expanding and growing until it eclipsed the light. The black sphere extended wings, and a deep red eye opened in the center.

_Do not interfere, Wisp. The fate of the world is not ours to decide. We are accessories, not actors._

The light flared briefly behind the new spirit, and Wisp reappeared next to it. _Shade. You are part of this as well, you know._

_Yes. But unlike you, I quite like this new world… unlike you, I will always find plenty of that which I need to keep me strong. Clinging to a Jumi for sustenance? How long did you think _that_ could last?_

_Her heart was pure once,_ the light spirit said sadly, and faded before Shade could respond.

The dark spirit flapped its wings once. _Wisp. Never sticks around for a decent argument._ The baleful red eye focused on Ren again. _Be glad I, at least, am content to be an accessory._

"You're…the darkness Wisp spoke of?"

The single eye managed to look insulted._ No. I know it well though. Yes. If you are so curious, why not look behind you?_

She turned instinctively. A massive cloud of red slashed with black towered over her. There was the briefest impression of wings and slashing talons as it dove, before Shade's mocking laughter chased her back to the waking world with a scream.

* * *

Ren clenched her teeth to keep from crying out similarly as her eyes flew open. She lay facing the wall, hands tight beneath the blankets, which were now swelteringly hot. Tossing them off, she sat up, her eyes flickering nervously around the room. She stared hard at the shadows and corners behind each piece of furniture, but reason quickly took over and assured her there was nothing there.

Except, of course, for Elazul, sitting in the room's single chair and staring, so far as she could tell, at the wall.

Ren sat up. "El."

"Hmm?" He looked up. "Can't sleep?"

"I was sleeping," she countered. "You're the one who looks like he's been awake all night."

"It's still night." He gestured at the stars through the open window.

"So…you're planning on sleeping then?"

Elazul looked at her for a moment, then went back to watching the wall.

"I thought not." Getting up briefly, she perched on the end of the bed, closer to him. "Elazul," she tried again.

"Mm?"

"What is the Sword of Mana?"

He shrugged. This was not the response she was looking for. "Please?"

"It's a _sword_."

"Ha ha."

Elazul sighed. "It's a legend. A myth, an enigma. Something for heroes to seek, the solution to all life's problems. Every world needs one, I'm sure."

"El," Ren said with forced calm. "I just had the most terrifying nightmare."

"No, really?"

Ren blinked at that. "Er…did I…talk in my sleep or something?"

"_Talking_ would have been far less painful. Do you always throw weapons around when you dream?"

"Um." Ren glanced at the bed. Her swords were, indeed, gone. "Did I…" Elazul didn't bother responding. "Oh. Where are they now?"

"Viridian's taking care of them."

Ren smoothed the blankets absently, flushing. "Sorry. I guess I was…" The details of the nightmare raced back.

"Going to tell me about it?" Elazul asked as she fell silent.

"Not until you say something _serious_ so I don't feel like a complete idiot!"

Reluctantly, he dragged his eyes away from the wall and focused on her. Staring just long enough to make her uncomfortable, he dropped his gaze to the floor.

"The Sword of Mana…it's a dream I gave up on long ago," he said carefully. "Perhaps that's why Nunuzac detected it from his 'dream world'. I was…looking for it once, as he said. There are many legends about it, but they're all just stories. I've followed a few…even got something out of it once or twice." He tapped the blade lying on the table next to him. "But never the real thing. There's no concrete evidence that it exists anymore, or even that it ever really existed. For all I know it might just be a metaphor, a made-up sword to symbolize the power of mana."

He glanced up, as if trying to see if he'd said enough to exchange for a nightmare yet. "I think it does exist," Ren said softly.

"Oh?" The single syllable was one step away from scornful, and a small step at that.

Locking her eyes with his own, as if she could force him to take her seriously simply by staring, Ren repeated everything Nunuzac had said to her, followed by Wisp and the black spirit. Word by word, slowly, carefully, but without room for interruption.

Elazul listened, then when it was obvious she wasn't going to say anything else, rubbed his forehead thoughtfully. "I don't understand."

"Neither do I." Ren stood up, pacing around the room. "But I think it's important." Resting her hands on the windowsill, she leaned out to look over the darkened city. "Remember it for me."

"What?" She could hear Elazul starting from the chair.

"Remember it for me! It's important, and I'll forget! I'll forget it, and I…I'm afraid."

For a moment, he was silent, then she heard him cross the floor to stand behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Can you…step away from the window?"

Whatever she'd half been expecting him to say, that wasn't it. "Why?"

"Just…please?" he asked, sounding rather shaken. Ren turned to look at him in astonishment and backed away, until she found the chair behind her and sat down. Elazul held his position for a moment, then leaned against the wall by the window and closed his eyes.

"I…wasn't going to _jump_ or anything," Ren broke the silence with the only possible explanation she could think of.

"I know," Elazul said without looking up. "You just…reminded me of someone. For a second. It made me nervous."

"Who?" No response. "El? You're making _me_ nervous now."

"I thought you were nervous already." Elazul opened his eyes, but stayed staring at the floor. "It's all this talk about that damned legendary sword. All it does is cause problems. Just _talking_ about it causes problems."

Ren didn't think the problems had anything to do with swords at this point, personally, but decided it wouldn't be a good idea to say so.

"My parents were looking for it too." Elazul continued to speak to the floor, or to himself. He didn't seem to actually be talking to her anymore. "It did them no good either. Just when I thought I was done thinking about the stupid thing forever, it crops up again. Why?"

"What happened to them?" Ren asked, trying to bring his attention back.

"You can't guess?" The question was acidic. "They died. Core hunter."

"Sandra?"

He blinked in confusion. "You know I never saw her before Gato…or maybe you don't. No, this hunter was a magician, after Jumi cores for the mana power they contain."

Ren looked towards the window again, as if to the magic school. "Is that why…" She paused, and then went ahead anyway. "You didn't want to go there? You might meet him?"

"Not that one, no." Elazul glanced at his sword with a bitter sort of satisfaction. "I killed him."

Ren's head snapped towards him. He looked back, almost daring her to challenge it. "I…I'm sorry!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry? How can you possibly be sorry about it?"

"Not about the hunter! About your parents…I…" A stray thought rattled around her head, trying to get noticed amidst all these revelations. "Sapphire!"

"_What?_"

"The…the story you told about the sapphire guardian who couldn't cry for her knight and…killed herself…" Ren trailed off, realizing she sounded a bit too excited about remembering.

Elazul was staring at her, looking like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Of course, he couldn't do the latter, and ended up looking embarrassed, of all things.

"Why do you forget everything else, but remember something like that? Just because it's awkward for me?"

"Yes, I store it away in my head for just this sort of situation. Really. I do." Ren sighed, then smacked the table next to her with a thump. "You know I have no control over it!" She waited, but his expression didn't change, and she continued in a softer tone. "But…I'm right? They were your parents?"

Elazul nodded slightly. "Look…can we stop now? I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Why? What are you afraid of? That someone might actually feel sorry for you? That they might _care_? Is that really so…" Ren's hand tightened on the arm of the chair. "Oh."

Of course. If someone were to care…care enough to cry, they would turn to stone. Diana had said it was true, and though it was unpleasant, she didn't have any reason to disbelieve it.

The unsaid words hung heavy in the air between them, Ren wishing desperately that she'd never brought the topic up and Elazul…who knew what _he_ was thinking. He'd retreated back to glaring at the floor, which could mean anything.

"Okay, _now_ this is awkward," she said finally, and saw him very nearly laugh. Good.

"You owe me another nightmare," he said, ceasing his inspection of the floor.

"You don't have enough already?"

"No, I sleep just fine."

"When you sleep at all, you mean."

"That's the catch, isn't it," he grinned, and Ren relaxed back into the chair. She hadn't even realized how tense she was, but seeing him smile again somehow chased it away.

Slowly, she stood up and went back to the window, glancing at Elazul in case it bothered him, but all he did was turn so he could see out as well. The stars were fading now, and the slightest hint of light was blooming on the horizon.

"You can't…I mean…" Ren shifted her balance a little as she tried to think of how to say it. "I do care, you know. About you…and, and Pearl…and all of this…" Her will faltered as she hedged around the subject, hating herself for doing it, looking rapidly between Elazul and the stars outside, trying to judge his reaction. "You can't stop people from _feeling _just because you're afraid of…some curse."

"I know. I'd probably be insulted if you didn't, after all this." He smacked his forehead. "That's not what I meant to say. I just didn't realize…it didn't _occur_ to me what might happen until Sandra said…you know what she was doing. She _knew_, somehow she knew, and she wanted you to…"

"El!" Ren exclaimed suddenly. "Thank you!"

"Er…what?" Elazul blinked, his rather haphazard sentences cut off.

"For saving me, back there. I never said thank you, I was too busy being stupid…" She shook her head. "I know what it must have cost you."

"I didn't really have a chance to _think_ about it, it happened so fast."

"But you saved me anyway, and I never said thank you! I couldn't believe…"

"What's so hard to believe?" Elazul reached out as if to touch her hand, then stopped. "I…"

There was a loud scrabbling and suddenly a huge green shape burst through the window between them. "_Ren?_" One glowing golden eye fixed itself on her, the other on Elazul. "_What's _he_ doing in your room?_"

"_Viridian!_" Ren stumbled backwards, landing on the bed. "Get your huge stupid head out of here! And it's _his _room."

The dragon hissed explosively, turning his head further towards Elazul. "_Oh?_"

"It's not like…" Ren tried to explain. Beyond the scaly mass of dragon skull in the window, she could see Elazul lower his hand, clenching it tightly. Then he spun around, snatched his sword from the table and nearly ran out the door, which clicked shut behind him with smug finality.

Viridian watched it close. "_I guess it's time to go,_" he commented.

"El!" Ren called, but knew it was probably useless. She leapt to her feet, glaring at the dragon. "What is your _problem?_"

* * *

_Wikipedia is an incredible thing, I'm totally addicted to it and I highly recommend it for random facts to inspire the imagination. More information than you EVER needed. _

"_In ancient times, lapis lazuli was known as sapphire, which is the name that is used today for the blue corundum variety sapphire. It appears to have been the sapphire of ancient writers because Pliny refers to sapphirus as a stone sprinkled with specks of gold. A similar reference can be found in the Hebrew Bible in Job 28:6."_

_This bit inspired me to relate Elazul to the sapphire Jumi. I couldn't resist._

_On a different note…_

"_The Romans believed that lapis was a powerful aphrodisiac. In the Middle Ages, it was thought to keep the limbs healthy, and free the soul from error, envy and fear."_

_This would explain a lot, really. ;)_


	14. Misunderstood Magic

_**Raspberry**__: Wow. Review flood! Not that I'm objecting, mind you! I'm glad you like it so much…the fact that someone likes Sappho as Elazul's mom alone takes a load off my mind. I always wondered about the Jumi like that too… I mean, they come in male and female, right? Biologically, that implies parents… I know, I think too much. Anyway, thanks for reading!_

_**Lariaxa**__: If you keep inflating my ego like that, my head's going to explode, and then who will write the story? …you're too nice to me. :D_

_**Starlight**__: Abused women, huh. +peers at Elazul+ I can't figure out if that's sadly appropriate or just plain wrong. ;) Now I want to find a stone book like that…it sounds fascinating. _

_I also feel obliged to apologize for posting the same section of the game as Niana Kuonji (who's writing a killer Mana fic, by the way… hint hint go read it) within a few days of her. Gotta love coincidences. I can only hope my er, total disregard for the actual plot of the event keeps it from being repetative for those who read both stories. :)_

* * *

14- Misunderstood Magic

* * *

"_What do you mean?_" Viridian queried innocently. "_I just thought I'd see if you were ready to leave yet, and found _him_ here…and you looking upset._"

"I _am _upset! _Now_ I'm upset. Five minutes ago I was fine!" Ren scrambled under the bed for her shoes. Had she actually been fine, really? What precisely did she think she was doing? The questions built up in her head until they chased her back out into the light. "Oh forget it," she sighed, pulling on her shoes. "Why even talk to you? Get out of here and make sure that _other_ idiot doesn't go anywhere alone."

"_Why?_" asked the dragon irritably.

"Because I _said_ so!" Ren yelled. "Now get out!"

"_I can't! I'm stuck!_" Viridian squinted his eyes and strained against the window; Ren could hear ominous creaking sounds from the frame.

"Stop! Don't _break _it! Oh for heaven's sake…" Placing both hands against the dragon's nose, she pushed steadily. "How did you get in here in the first place? Turn your head to the left a bit…there!"

The dragon's head finally slid past the edges and popped outside, the force of his momentum sending him spinning over the street. Ren slammed the shutters closed and went back to searching the room. Two minutes later, she flung them open again.

"Viri! Where the heck are my swords?"

The dragon reappeared from above, and the two scabbards came sailing through the window, Ren just barely catching one and grumbling as she retrieved the other from the floor. "What'd he give them to _you_ for anyway?"

"_He didn't._" Viridian's eye peered through the window again. "_They came flying out of there in the middle of the night. The noise woke me up and I picked them up off the street._"

Ren stared blankly at him for a minute, then spun around and stormed out the door and down the stairs. In the lobby she spotted Elazul talking to the innkeeper. Grabbing him by the arm she dragged him a few paces away.

"You threw my swords out the _window?_"

Elazul gave her the same blank look she'd directed at Viridian a moment ago. "You threw them at me first."

"I was _sleeping!_"

"So was I, until then."

"So you threw them _outside? _What, was the _table _too far away?" Pulling the blades out one at a time, she inspected them carefully. "You think I can afford _new_ ones?"

"So I'm not the most reasonable right after being woken up…can you stop yelling?" Elazul looked over his shoulder nervously.

The teapot was watching them with a look of complete fascination that Ren didn't even want to think about interpreting. Feeling her face go hot, she sheathed the sword quickly and started pulling Elazul towards the door. "We're leaving."

He jerked his arm out of her grasp. "I was paying my bill, unless _you _want to get it?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned back to the innkeeper.

Ren hurried outside and took refuge against a pillar before the teapot could ask anything embarrassing. After a moment, Viridian landed lightly next to her. "_Ren…_" he started.

"Do. Not. Talk to me," she hissed, and he slunk backwards. Above the street, windows began opening as people took notice of the dragon, and whispers drifted down. Just when Ren thought she was going to have to start yelling at them to mind their own business, Elazul came out to join them.

The three of them stood around aimlessly for several long minutes. Viridian looked sulky now, Elazul obviously wasn't going to say anything while the dragon was there and Ren…

She wanted to be angry at them both. Being angry kept her from thinking about other things.

"Let's just get going," she said, pushing off the pillar and heading down the street. Viridian leapt into the air after her, amid a chorus of fascinated noises.

Elazul looked at the small crowd that had gathered as people left their houses for a better look. "Don't you have better things to do?" he asked loudly, and the gawkers were suddenly occupied with sweeping their front porches, straightening curtains, or just being elsewhere very quickly.

After that, they walked in silence towards the city gates, and the longer they went without saying anything, the more ridiculous anything that might have been said seemed. By the time they left the city, the silence had turned into a sort of living thing that fed off of embarrassment and frustration, and refused to be defeated by mere words.

"Master Mephianse! Master Mephianse! Professor Nunuzac's sent a _dragon_ after us!" The conversation-killing monster was violently dispelled by a strident voice from the side of the path. Ren turned towards it just in time to see a set of school robes disappear between two bushes.

"What was that all about?" Elazul asked.

"Let's find out!" Ren latched on to the welcome distraction.

"Is it really any of our…" he started to protest, but she didn't stay to listen. Shoving her way through the bushes, Ren stumbled into a small clearing hidden from the roads by scraggly trees and a largish rock formation. In the middle was a tall man talking to the student that had run from the road a moment before. Scattered around the place were seven or eight other students all working furiously at drawing lines and placing objects on the ground. It looked like one of Bud and Lisa's diagrams, but bigger and more complicated.

And right in the middle of it, fiddling with some pebbles, was Rachel.

"I knew you were here!" Ren rushed forward and grabbed the girl by the back of her robe.

"Ren!" Rachel struggled a bit. "I can explain, but you shouldn't really…"

"It _is_ a dragon!" The shout from the tall man heralded Elazul and Viridian's arrival. "Activate the circle, quickly!" All around, the students began chanting.

"Huh?" Ren turned just in time to see Viridian swooping down towards them before a bright light flashed from the lines on the ground, and she lost her grip on Rachel as a force like a strong wind shoved her from behind.

Ren overbalanced and sat down, finding gritty sand beneath her instead of gravelly dirt. The light faded, but not by much, becoming more concentrated in one place, burning down from overhead. The sun, but a sun that seemed much closer and hotter than it had a minute before.

"You brought them _with_ us?" someone shouted, then a lot of voices spoke at once.

"We couldn't help it!"

"They were inside the circle!"

"At least we left the dragon behind!"

"Master Mephianse, he's got a sword!" That sent Ren surging to her feet, just in time to see Elazul charge the man who must be Mephianse.

"Spies for Nunuzac, are you? Get back!" Mephianse yelled, and sliced a hand through the air. Ren threw up her arms in front of her face as the wind picked up again and sent a wave of sand flying towards them, the fine grains stinging like tiny daggers.

By the time it cleared, everyone was gone, except for herself and Elazul, standing in a rather windswept circle. "What happened?" Ren asked, brushing off her skirt.

"My _guess_ is that was a teleportation circle you ran so eagerly into." Elazul lowered his sword and looked up at the sky and out at the endless sand. "That's just a guess, mind you."

"No need to be sarcastic. I can't help but notice _you_ ran into it as well." Ren turned in a slow circle, deliberately ignoring the dirty look being cast her way. "So where are we?"

"The desert, obviously." Elazul sighed. "Just where I wanted to get lost again."

"Again?"

"Yes, agai…oh no you don't. My stories cost one nightmare apiece, remember? And you haven't been to sleep since the last one." He pointed ahead of them instead. "We need to follow their tracks before they blow away, or we really will get lost."

Elazul started off over the sands, leaving Ren staring after him. "Coming?" he called back when he turned and saw her still standing there. "You'll get sunburned!"

Running to catch up, Ren kept pace alongside him. "Nothing's going to stop that," she muttered. "What'd you attack that guy for anyway? He might have sent us back!"

"You know, he might have. He also might have burnt us to a crisp or thrown us into an alternate dimension like that crazy plate. I didn't want to give him a chance to think about it."

"That doesn't mean you should try to kill him."

"I wasn't going to kill him." Elazul glared at her. "I was just trying to stop him. Obviously I wasn't fast enough."

"I'm just saying that if you hadn't _scared_ him we might have been able to _talk_…"

"And _you_ always talk things out before acting, of course…"

"_Hey!_" A loud whisper made itself heard. Elazul spun straight around, his sword swinging towards the source before Ren could even begin to look.

Rachel was standing behind them, stumbling backwards with a squeak as Elazul's sword pointed at her. The Jumi looked at her in astonishment.

"It is you!" he exclaimed. Rachel didn't say anything, just started to back away slowly. Ren reached out and pushed the sword down.

"You need to work on those reflexes, seriously."

Elazul sheathed the weapon. "What was I supposed to think, sneaking up on us like that…"

"I wasn't _sneaking_," Rachel spoke up. "I tried to get your attention, but you two were so busy _arguing_ you didn't hear me." Making a wide circle to avoid Elazul, she flung her arms around Ren. "I'm so glad you're alright! I was afraid Mephianse had killed you or something!"

"It was just sand…" Ren pried the girl off her. "And you have a lot of explaining to do!"

"Not now, not now!" Rachel waved her hands frantically. "Now that you're here, you need to stop him!"

"Who?" Ren looked at Elazul. "He's just overreacting, don't worry about…"

"Not _him_," Rachel dismissed the Jumi with a stamp of her foot. "Mephianse! He's got some sort of book and he's going to summon stars from the sky to destroy the world! You have to stop him!"

"Told you," said Elazul.

"You did not."

"Not in so many words, but…"

"Hello?" Rachel raised her voice a little further. "Destroy the world? Does this not mean anything to you guys?"

Ren looked at Rachel in surprise, then around at the sand. "That sounds a little…off…to me. This seems like a strange place to destroy the world from, don't you think? There's nothing for miles."

"I don't know." Elazul was suddenly thoughtful. "There's all kinds of things buried in the desert…things leftover from the great magic wars."

"Yes!" Rachel flung her cloak back, freeing her wings to hover angrily in front of his face. "Can we _move_ now? What, do you have a rock for _brains_, too? Let's _go!_"

"What did you just…" Elazul twisted to follow Rachel's trail as she sped off above the sand, but she didn't look back. "That can't be the same girl who hid in the back room every time I went into the bar!" Ren straightened her face quickly as he looked at her. "You're laughing!"

"No, no, not at all." Ren took off running after Rachel. "Wouldn't dream of it!"

* * *

Elazul soon took the lead, following the faint tracks left by the crowd of students. Ren wanted to ask Rachel a hundred questions, but the heat kept her from wasting breath on any of them. "You _are_ going to explain," she still took the time to point out. "Don't think this whole evil magician bit will get you out of it."

Rachel started to reply, but was interrupted by a squawking from overhead. Ren looked up to see two huge pink and yellow birds swooping down at them. They were roundish in shape and almost fluffy.

"Aw, it's kind of cute," Ren remarked as one made a pointed dive for Elazul's head.

He glared at her as he drew his sword. "Shut up and kill it."

Ren snickered and focused on the second bird, but it veered away from her and dove towards Rachel instead.

"Ahhh!" The girl threw her cloak over her face as the bird pulled up and flapped its wings rapidly, sending sharp looking feathers raining down.

"Cute, but not too bright," Ren commented as she leapt up and stabbed her sword through the thing's exposed back, pinning it to the ground. It fluttered its wings weakly and died.

Ren turned to see Elazul spear his opponent in mid-air. The body hung motionless for a moment, before exploding in a shower of pink feathers.

"Well that's not natural." She looked down in time to see the dead bird in front of her do the same. Pulling her sword from the sand, she nudged the feathers with one foot. Suddenly they pulled together and a second bird leapt from the sand where they'd been. This one was brown and obviously land-bound, but it had a wicked-looking beak and talons to match.

Ren leapt back as it lashed out with a clawed foot, aiming for her legs. Circling it, she swung at its back, but it turned and clamped its beak down on her sword, holding fast. Trying to pull it back, she could feel the blade shivering under the pressure. "Don't break it! Don't break it!" she cried, letting go of the one and slamming the hilt of the other sword into its head, hard.

The bird screeched and dropped the first sword. Grabbing the hilt even as it fell, she flipped the blade back upwards, severing the creature's neck. It burbled and collapsed, dissolving into thin air as Ren's headlong dive dropped her to the sand.

"Behind you!" Rachel yelled. Ren rolled over to see a second bird charging towards her, just before a line of brilliant white light sliced through its middle, blinding her in the process.

Blinking her vision clear, she saw Elazul lowering his sword. "Almost got away from me," he said. "Still think they're cute?"

"Not really." Ren got up slowly. "That was pretty effective, El. Why don't you do it more often?"

Elazul looked at his sword critically. "Because it doesn't always work. I'd rather not rely on it."

"Well, that makes me feel better."

"Don't try to tell me you couldn't have handled it. It was just a bird."

"Of course." Ren flushed in embarrassment. "Normal birds _always_ disappear like that when they die."

"They must have been summoned creatures." Elazul scanned the horizon for more. "Distractions to slow us down."

"Summoning? Nunuzac said…" Ren wiped her forehead for a moment.

"Are you forgetting already?"

"No, I'm _hot_," she snapped. "Not all of us can fight in the goddess be damned _desert_ and look so cool about it!" Ren sighed. Losing her temper was not going to help the heat any. "Anyway, he said the cracks in the world were widened by things like summoning and great magics. If Mephianse…"

"Cracks in the world?" Rachel looked at them quizzically.

"Um, yes well…" Ren turned away from her and started walking again. "The end result is, I think we should stop that guy and quickly."

"Ren?" Elazul cleared his throat behind her. "The trail is _this_ way."

"I knew that." Ren reversed her course and the trio began trekking over the sands again. Rachel flapped her wings to gain some height and stayed hovering above them for a while.

"I see them!" she called down finally. "Over there! They have some kind of…cannon set up."

"Sounds pleasant," said Elazul.

"You go ahead," Ren told Rachel. "Sneak in and mingle with the other students again, try to slow them down or disrupt them if you can, but don't let them catch on. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'll be fine…I've been fooling this lot for _ages_ already."

"It hasn't been _ages_ since you ran away," Ren pointed out. "Be _careful_."

Rachel sighed, waved a hand in what Ren hoped was agreement, and buzzed off towards their target.

* * *

Ren and Elazul took a more roundabout path, eventually ending up on the other side of the camp entirely, behind a huge rock. Beyond, they could see Mephianse standing near the huge cannon, giving orders and reading out of a thick red book. Scrawled on the ground were a complicated but hastily-drawn set of lines and diagrams, with students scurrying all over it. Ren couldn't figure out which was Rachel, which she assumed was a good thing.

"That is a nasty-looking weapon," she said, easing her way back around the rock from checking out the site.

"Agreed."

"So what do we do?"

"Break it of course."

"Right…" Ren thought for a second. "I'll head for the cannon, you distract Mephianse."

"Distract?" Elazul peered around the rock again. "Thanks. You want me to try to talk to him again?"

"No. Feel free to beat him up this time."

"If I can."

"Oh come on, you stole a Jumi core right out of his office, how good can he be?"

"He wasn't there at the time."

"El, you were ready to charge the guy before. What happened in the last hour to turn you into such a pansy? Get out there!" Ren put one hand on his shoulder and one in the small of his back and pushed, sending him on a rather off-balance course away from their cover. Then she vaulted over the top of the rock and ran for the cannon.

Havoc ensued immediately. Students shrieked and scattered, several of them smudging the spell-lines in the process. A slightly braver student stood his ground and raised his hands. A collection of small boulders formed in midair and started to launch themselves at Ren, but a second student that might have been Rachel tackled the caster from behind and they both went down, the rocks spinning off in all directions.

Ren stepped around the struggling duo and took the open path. She had to shove a couple of boys out of the way, but the cannon itself was unguarded and she leapt onto it's podium easily. "Okay…now what?" she asked the weapon, a silent, bronzed construct covered in swirls and carvings. The end facing her had what looked like a door in the back. She put both hands on the side of it and tried to pry it open before noticing the handle on the other side.

"Ah. Right." Ren reached for the handle, but a ball of fire struck the side of the cannon, sending bits of flame everywhere, and she jerked her hand back quickly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mephianse stood at the bottom of the podium, hand raised. Another fireball formed, yellow and red, and flew straight towards her. Just before it hit, another red shape spun into her field of vision. The spell struck it and dissipated without a sound. Mephianse stared.

_Pathetic,_ said a spirit voice, and the red snake-like form turned to wink at Ren before fading from view.

"Got you," came another voice and Elazul slammed into Mephianse from behind, knocking the book from his hands. The Jumi kicked it away and drew his sword in one motion.

Jolted out of her confusion, Ren turned back to the cannon and yanked the door open. Inside was nothing but blackness, a deep hole leading into the depths of whatever made the weapon work.

"Ah ha!" Mephianse shouted, dodging around Elazul. "Exactly what I needed!" Raising his arm again, he chanted a few words and a line of yellow light sprung up and dove into the black hole. For a very short second, nothing happened, and then a cloud of sparks exploded from the back of the cannon, enveloping the podium.

Choking and backing up to get away from the stinging bits of fire, Ren managed to slam the door shut on most of the sparks before stumbling off the edge of the podium. Looking around, she saw Elazul grappling with the magician as lines of yellow light raced along the circles the students had drawn, sputtering a bit every time they crossed a smudged portion.

Said students ran for cover as fountains of yellow light began to spring up where the circles crossed. As soon as all were filled, the cannon made an ominous rumbling. Mephianse looked at it with alarm and tried to run, but Elazul grabbed him as he went past and laid his sword at the magician's throat.

"Oh no you don't," he said. "If that thing explodes, you're going to make a very nice shield."

"Explodes?" Ren scrambled backwards just as the cannon went off with a _bang_ loud enough to be heard in Domina, she was certain. A ball of iridescent, multi-colored light sprang from its mouth and flew high into the air, followed by another, and another. Just as a fourth ball was leaving the cannon, the first separated into thousand of smaller copies of itself, which made whizzing noises across the sky in gently spiraling arcs. Finally exhausting themselves, the tiny orbs exploded with slightly quieter pops, showering the desert with streams of blue and red and green.

"Fireworks," said a student, crawling out from behind a cactus. "_Fireworks?_" The whole class began to re-emerge from their hiding places, standing around the podium and looking up at the results of their work.

"Master Mephianse," a boy said with a whine, slumping to a sitting position. "You are totally uncool." Most of the students muttered agreement, but they didn't take their eyes off the sky.

Mephianse stared up at the exploding pinpoints of light, seeming to forget there was a sword at his throat. "Perhaps…Nunuzac was right," he said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Ren glanced down from the display, rubbing her arms where the sparks had touched her.

"There was a time…a time when something like this, unearthed from the distant past, would never have dared to be something so ridiculously _inane_ as a party toy! A time when mages summoned fire from the heavens that could burn whole towns to ashes…" Mephianse started to raise a dramatic arm, then remembered the sword. He lowered both arm and eyes, looking dejected. "Magic might really be going out of the world."

Ren stood with one hand on her hip, looking between the magician and the continuing fireworks overhead. Finally she waved Elazul away. "Let him go."

Elazul looked like his was going to argue for a minute, then lowered his sword and stepped back a bit. Mephianse rubbed his neck, but didn't move otherwise. "What were you _trying_ to do here?" Ren asked. "And don't move too quickly, that guy has killer reflexes."

It was probably best that Mephianse couldn't see Elazul trying not to laugh behind him. Instead, the magician pointed carefully at the red book, lying a ways away in the sand. "I was certain I'd translated that properly. It has drawings of this machine, and said it would rain stars down from the heavens. How could I resist? And when I finally located it, out here in the desert…what better place to test a new, powerful magic? So I gathered my best students and came out here to try it."

Ren found herself almost feeling sorry for the man. His 'best' students were snickering quietly among themselves, she could see his reputation disappearing like so much sand in the wind.

Mephianse glared them into silence before continuing bitterly. "It would have been fine, no matter _what_ it did, if you two hadn't burst in and messed it up. If I'd had a chance to take my time and do this _properly_, I would have figured out what the spell was without this embarrassing display." He waved a hand violently at the cannon, then started and looked apprehensively at Elazul.

The Jumi had lost interest in him and was watching the sky appreciatively. Ren grinned and looked back up as well. "This is a nice effect, you have to admit. Though, it would be better at night."

"More romantic, you mean?" said a voice that sounded like Rachel's from the crowd of students. Ren turned to glare, but couldn't pick her out among the brown and green robes. She turned it on Mephianse instead.

"We weren't _trying_ to mess it up, not at first. You're the one that panicked and set off your teleportation thing _right_ _under_ us."

"I seem to recall a _dragon_ swooping down on our heads, what was I supposed to think?"

"Oh, that was just Viridian, he's my pet," said Ren offhandedly. "He's harmless."

Mephianse's eyes widened. "You have a _dragon_ for a…pet?"

"More or less. Is that a problem?"

Mephianse didn't seem to have an answer to that, he just shook his head in wonderment. "Nunuzac didn't send you after all, did he."

"Nunuzac's got other things on his mind right now."

"Kathinja then." The magician was obviously grasping at straws.

"Never met her." Ren sighed. "We got caught in your stupid portal by _accident_, okay? Then we heard all this hue and cry about raining destruction from the heavens and what were _we_ supposed to think?"

"I suppose it was all a misunderstanding." Mephianse crossed his arms in front of him. "I apologize."

Elazul sighed and looked down as the last of the fireworks fizzled out overhead. "Accepted," he said, sheathing his sword. Ren stared at him.

"Accepted? That's it?"

He shrugged. "It was a pretty good display." Walking over to a nearby rock, he cleared some students' junk off it and sat down. "No harm done, and I don't have the energy to argue it further. _Some_ of us didn't get any sleep last night."

This last comment caused a round of inexplicable giggling from the students. Ren imitated Mephianse's glare until they subsided. "Whatever," she said, and turned back to the teacher. "So now what?"

Mephianse looked at the cannon speculatively. "There might be a market for this somewhere."

"Great, I'll put you in touch with the best salesrabbit I know. I _meant_ what are you going to do about us being stuck out here in the desert with you?"

"Stuck?" Mephianse blinked. "Why would you be stuck? As soon as we clean up this mess, we'll be rebuilding the teleportation circle to take us all back to Geo."

Ren realized how utterly stupid it was of her _not_ to realize that if they could make one teleport spell, they could make another. Suddenly she didn't want to talk to him anymore. "Ah, well…that's fine then. I'll just go…wait over there." She started to hurry to where Elazul was sitting, then turned back. "Hey! Could you make that circle take us to Domina instead? Save us a walk back, in exchange for all the trouble you've put us through."

"Trouble I've put _you_ through?" Mephianse bristled. "What about…" Ren turned all the way around and watched him carefully until he deflated. "Right. Domina." The magician turned quickly to his students. "You heard her! Get moving!"

Ren dropped onto the rock next to Elazul and sighed loudly as students began scrambling to erase lines. "What'd you have to go and be all diplomatic for? I really wanted to hit something."

Elazul pointed helpfully at a cactus.

"What did that cactus ever do to you?"

"Better the cactus than me."

Ren scooped up a piece of sandstone and lobbed it at him, just because. He knocked it aside and gave her a pained look.

"What?" she asked innocently. "You asked for it, really."

Elazul sighed, shaking his head. "What did I do to deserve you, tell me."

"Hmm." Ren rested her elbows on her knees and watched the commotion around them. She was about to respond rather facetiously, when she realized she couldn't think of anything to be facetious _about_. When trying to make a joke, it helps to remember the actual circumstances to base the joke _on_.

"El," she said, suddenly serious. "Where _did_ we meet?"

"The bar…in Domina…" Elazul looked surprised. "The whole thing with Rachel, you know, the reason she doesn't like me?"

Ren continued to stare at the ground, crossing her hands under her chin. "I can't remember it," she said bluntly. "This is really starting to bother me, you know? Going places, seeing things, meeting people, all this is supposed to _make it better_. Instead, it's getting worse." Her hands clenched involuntarily, thinking of the recent conversation with Esmerelda, where the guardian had accused her of not remembering important things.

Esmerelda had been right. Then she'd had to go and have some ridiculous discussion with Elazul at the inn, trying to make some kind of connection that couldn't possibly happen, because there was nothing to tie the connection to on her side.

She felt like a string, dangling free, looking for something to tie one end to while the other slowly unraveled. And she'd chosen Elazul to cling to, like he didn't have enough problems already.

Ren wondered, suddenly, if this was how Pearl felt. Useless and alone, clinging to her knight as if he could do everything for her, solve all her problems and protect her from the world.

It all seemed incredibly stupid in the light of day.

"Goddess, El, I'm an idiot," she said, standing up. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For…" Ren waved a hand vaguely. "Everything. All that."

"The fireworks?" Elazul raised an eyebrow. "I liked the fireworks."

Ren couldn't tell if he was serious or deliberately misunderstanding her. Or if she was even making sense in the first place. Probably not. "Oh nevermind," she said, turning away. "Don't listen to me, I think it's the heat. I'll go see if I can't get them to hurry that spell up."

* * *

Ren found Rachel deep in discussion with the same boy she'd tackled earlier. Go figure. "Come on, you." She snagged the girl's robe and pulled her away. "Time for that explanation."

"What, _now?_ But Dill was just telling me about…"

"Who cares? If you don't tell me what game you think you're playing _this_ _instant_, he's not going to be telling you about _anything_, because I'm dragging you straight back to Domina, where your parents can lock you in your room for the _rest of your life_ for all I care."

"Geez, who jumped on your flower arrangement?" Rachel straightened her sleeves irritably. "I'll explain, no need to be nasty about it."

"I'm not being…" Ren sighed. "Maybe I am. It's the heat," she explained, half to convince herself. "Now _tell me_."

Rachel sat down beneath a cactus, and Ren gratefully took up the rest of the shade. "All right, but you have to promise not to laugh."

"I'll try."

"Suuure…anyway, I always wanted to learn magic, you know? Seeing Bud and Lisa always showing off only made it worse. It's like you said once…why am I wasting my life bartending?"

"Did I say that?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You did. Really. Anyway, that doesn't matter. A few nights ago, I was talking to Pearl, and she said that you said…don't look at me like that, you said this too…that we should just do what needs to be done, right? So I did it, I left and headed for Geo."

"It didn't occur to you to _ask?_"

"No! They'd only say no!" Rachel snapped. "You know my parents!"

"I doubt they're as unreasonable as you think they are, but…just go on."

"Well, I was just leaving town when I ran into Niccolo. I wanted him to give me a ride, but he was headed back the way I came. He said he'd seen a group of magic students in Lumina the day before however, and I thought they might still be there…so I went that way instead."

"No wonder we didn't see you on the road to Geo. Viridian and I looked for you along the _whole_ _road._"

"Yes, well..." Rachel looked a little embarrassed now. "I didn't mean for _you_ to get dragged into this. In Lumina I ran into this lot." She gestured at Mephianse and the other students. "I think they were picking up supplies for this operation. I wanted to sneak in with them and follow them back to Geo, but I didn't have the right clothes…until I met Rosemary."

"And that is?"

"She is…was…one of the students in this class. She saw me trailing them around and came to ask what I was doing. When I told her I wanted to join the school, she got all excited. She and I were about the same height, same hair, we looked kind of alike, you know, so she hatched this plan. She'd cast a spell to make herself look like me, and go back to Domina, and I'd take her robes and blend in with the class. The teachers can hardly tell the boys from the girls around here, much less individual faces. It worked perfectly!"

Ren snorted. "The teachers I've met do seem a bit out of it, don't they? But why would this girl want to do this for you?"

"Because she doesn't want to learn magic any more than I want to wait tables!" Rachel exclaimed. "Her parents were making her!"

Ren thought about that. "You know, that is just stupid enough a story for me to believe. So this…Rosemary is back in Domina, pretending to be you? How long do you think _that_ can last?"

"Long enough for me to get established at the school! Rosemary said that if I spied on Mephianse while he worked on this project and then took the information to Nunuzac or Kathinja, they'd like me enough to let me stay no matter what! Then it wouldn't matter if my parents found out!"

Rachel looked at the sand in front of her. "But then, I started hearing all about conjuring stars from the sky and destroying things and I got scared…which is why I was so happy when you showed up. Even though I don't have anything to tell the other teachers now."

"Oh I don't know…telling them about this mess will probably make them laugh hard enough to like you, I'm sure." Ren drew circles in the sand with one finger, thinking. "You should go back."

"Back? No! If I go back now, they'll _never_ let me go to school. I'll be stuck pouring drinks for the _rest of my life_."

"Enough with the drama, it hurts my ears," Ren said, wincing theatrically. "I meant go back to the school, with the rest of them. Go to the teachers, tell them your story and get accepted on your own merits. None of this spying junk."

"But…" Rachel started to protest.

"You don't think you can?" Ren shook her head. "If you have that little faith in yourself, what'd you run away for in the first place?"

"So…you're not going to take me back? You won't tell my parents?"

"Hah. I _am_ going to tell your parents. They're too nice for me not to."

"But they'll make me come home!"

Ren shrugged. "If you're already accepted at the school, maybe they won't. Maybe they will. You'll have to deal with that yourself. That's part of 'doing what you have to' you know, taking the consequences."

For a minute, Rachel looked like she might cry. Then suddenly she stood up. "You're right. I'll talk to the teachers, and be the best student they've ever seen! Then mom and dad won't dream of bringing me home!" She turned with a determined look, only to run straight into Elazul.

Rachel let out a startled shriek before catching herself. "You can't stop me either!" she snapped at him, and ran for the safety of the other students.

Elazul looked after her. "Didn't even cross my mind…"

Ren looked up at him. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Since I realized it was either listen to this, or that _fascinating_ discussion on the regenerative properties of powdered spotted mushrooms going on over there. By the way, I think the circle is done."

"Thank goodness." Ren shot to her feet. "I can't take this desert anymore."

"Are you really going to let her get away with all that?" Elazul asked as they walked back to the circle.

"It's in her hands now."

"Except that you're stuck explaining to her family that they've been harboring some imposter in their house."

"Eh," Ren shrugged. "If I'm lucky, it'll make her mom hate me enough to stop hugging me all the time."

* * *

_If this story was an anime, this chapter would totally be (more) filler. Sorry, I really needed to write something random after all that angst. It wore me out! So I decided to mess with Rachel some more. Plus I wanted to get everyone back to Domina without a long boring traveling thing…the idea of having to document Ren and El and Viri sharing a _campfire_ at this point was a bit much. Somebody might have to die. ;) So I substituted it with a just-as-long but slightly less boring (maybe) random exploding magic thing. Um. Anyway._

_No blue green wiggly-jigglies though, that was just too bizarre…even for my tastes._

_Speaking of Rachel...calling the girl who takes her place Rosemary was something I borrowed from Kid Dragon. I'm pretty sure it was in the game somewhere, but she deserves credit for figuring it out from the students at the school. They just confused me with all their herb names, and I certainly wouldn't remember them off the top of my head...which is how I write most of this. Also I wanted to make a shameless plug for her Mana fics (READ THEM) because I adore them. Seriously, they're really good, and way way way more original than mine will ever be._


	15. Dissonance

_**G3rain1:**__ Review flood part two! I like to pretend I don't care about reviews and just write for fun, but really, logging in and seeing FIVE at once makes my day. Or week. ;)_

_**Starlight:**__ Yes, do it! Write mana fics! I'll read them, and so will everyone else. Right? Right? -prods everyone with pointy stick- They will._

_**Lariaxa:**__ -- This person right here keeps me sane. 'nuff said._

* * *

15 – Dissonance

* * *

Ren fidgeted restlessly in her chair, glancing pointedly out the window every few minutes. She'd been at Mark and Jennifer's for hours…or maybe it just felt like hours. Going around and around in circles of anger, guilt, denial and now, _finally_, acceptance.

"My little girl…all grown up and going to school…" Mark sat down heavily in a chair, looking sad.

"But just think dear…" Jennifer leaned over behind him. "That other girl has been so _good_ in the restaurant. No complaining about getting up in the morning for the breakfast shift, no badgering people for proper tips, no messed up orders just to be ornery…she really seems to _like_ it."

"Yes, but she was _pretending _to be our_ daughter_. That doesn't bother you?"

Ren cringed. Not _another_ circle…please…

Jennifer scoffed. "Children will be children, dear. And now that the secret's out, she's like…an exchange student! Don't you think it will be fun?"

"What about Rachel, though?" Mark drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. "We can't just let her act like this and be _rewarded_ for it."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll find the magic school isn't all fun and games after a few classes…and we'll have to send her a stern letter, of course, but don't you think it will be nice to have some peace and quiet around here? Rachel was turning into quite the little hurricane lately…"

"I remember when she was so quiet too," Mark reminisced fondly.

"Yes, and there was a time when she _liked_ pink, remember?"

Ren sat looking between them, trying to shrink into her seat and wondering if it would be polite to escape before they started telling baby stories.

* * *

"It didn't work, El!" Ren slammed the gate behind her. "She still insisted on hugging me, and gushed over what a good _role model_ I was for her daughter. Role model! Do I strike you as a role model?"

Elazul shrugged, pushing away from his favorite lamp post. "I'm not going to answer a question like that, it's asking for trouble. Anyway, you were in there long enough. I didn't think it would take _all day_ to explain."

Ren looked up at the sky. The teleportation spell had dropped them just outside Domina early that afternoon, and the sun had receded quite a bit now. "I don't want to talk about it." She grimaced. "Trust me, it involves way too much pink."

"Point taken. Did you find out where Pearl is?"

"Yes, eventually. She went to the park with Bud and Lisa."

Elazul looked up the street. "Think it's still in one piece?"

"One can only hope."

They took the short walk up the street to the park, passing under the trees that ringed the fountain.

"Well, everything seems to be flame-free," Ren remarked, watching the streams of water dance around the fountain in the wind. Just beyond it, she could see the twins kneeling under a tree, talking excitedly to Pearl about some diagrams scrawled in the dirt.

They were just about to circle the fountain when the Jumi girl looked up. "Elazul!"

"Ren!" Bud and Lisa yelled at a much higher volume, and ran up to fling their arms around her.

"Hi you two. Haven't been boring Pearl to…" she almost said _to tears_ before catching herself. "…to distraction, have you?"

"No no no! Lisa and I found the _perfect_ spot for channeling wood spirits over there!" Bud chattered enthusiastically as they released their grips. "We thought it would be a good place to summon some bug catching plants that we could take home, because Lisa tried to make a casserole, only the cheese melted and got stuck to the stove and she refused to clean it up so the bugs moved in and tried to…"

Ren stopped listening as she realized this story was only heading towards a horrible end. Instead she glanced over at Pearl, who was standing a much more dignified distance away from Elazul. Neither of them was talking, but they didn't look unhappy. In fact, Ren almost thought she heard a strange high note in the air, just on the edge of audibility, before the sound of Bud and Lisa yelling at each other chased it away.

"It was all your fault!"

"Nuh uh, you're the one who tried to dispel them and ended up _multiplying_ them all over the house!"

"Yeah, well, if you hadn't tried to whack that one with your broom, the spell would have _worked_ and then…"

Ren edged away from the pair. "Pearl…" she interrupted the Jumi's more serene greeting. "Do I actually want to go home right now?"

"Oh…well…" Pearl looked apprehensively towards the south. "I don't think they were expecting you back so soon, so…they, um, might not have _quite_ gotten the place up to standards…"

"I'm going to take that as Pearl-speak meaning it's a complete disaster." Ren groaned and turned on the twins. "Knock it off you two! I don't care who's fault it is! You run home and have the mess cleaned up before I get there or so help me I'll…" The kids took off like a purple blur before she could even finish her sentence.

"It must be _really_ bad if they didn't even stop to argue with you," Elazul commented, watching them retreat.

"I'm not thinking about it, I'm not thinking about it…" Ren muttered, then looked at Pearl. "So, has anything non-disastrous happened around here while I was gone?"

"Well." The blonde girl looked around, as if the trees could give her a topic. "Not really. It's been very quiet. It's nice, really…oh! Jennifer lent me a book, I brought it with me…where did I put it?" Spying the book under the tree they'd been at before, Pearl went to retrieve it, stopping to dutifully erase the lines Bud and Lisa had made there.

Ren watched her, suddenly feeling depressed. She looked very happy, completely unaware of anything that might be threatening her. Glancing at Elazul, she could imagine him thinking the same thing. "You are going to have to tell her," she said quietly. "About Sandra…Esmerelda and the rest."

"Why?" he asked, looking genuinely surprised. "Look at her, she's so…she doesn't need to think about something like that right now."

"El…" Ren shook her head. "You might just shelter her too much. Otherwise, it's only going to be worse when she _does_ find out. If she doesn't know you're hiding something already, and is just too polite to say so. You know you said Jumi can tell when you're lying."

"Lying isn't the same as not saying anything, though."

"Don't justify it like that. You really should…"

Pearl came running up then, clutching her book, but before she could say anything, a loud explosion and crashing noise drowned her out.

"No way!" Ren spun around, automatically looking for the twins. "They _couldn't _have, so soon?"

"It didn't come from there." Elazul steered her attention away from the south. "It came from the market."

"The market?" Ren looked north now, but couldn't see any tell-tale plumes of smoke or flying lightning to justify that noise. Still… "Let's go check!"

The three ran up the street towards the market square. As they got closer, Ren could definitely hear people shouting in panic, as well as a very distinct, echoing voice. "Viridian!" she yelled, skidding around a corner and stopping dead.

The marketplace was a wreck. Stalls and carts that had been in the process of packing up for the incoming twilight were strewn about, some in splinters, their contents thrown all over the cobblestones. Lying in the middle of the squashed vegetable stall that was the exact center of the mess was the green dragon.

"Viridian!" Ren gasped again. "What in mana's name…"

"_Ren!_" The dragon leapt into the air, scattering fruit and jewelry and bits of wood every which way amid the screams of merchants running for cover. He slammed back into the ground in front of her, claws raking long gashes in the stones. "_You _left _me!_"

"It was an accident, Viri! We got caught in that teleport spell!"

"_Then why did you come_ _here?_" The dragon didn't let up. "_I was worried and couldn't find you, and then that magician shows up cool as ice and tells me you came back _here! _I went all over that school place looking for you!_"

"Oh no…Viri, please tell me…"

"_I only knocked on a few doors until I found someone who could teleport me back too!_"

Ren could only imagine the dragon breaking down doors and shaking teachers until they made a hasty teleport for him. "I'll never be able to set foot in Geo again, will I…"

"_Why didn't you come _back_ for me?_" The dragon wailed, causing the few merchants and customers who had been inching closer for a better look to duck quickly back behind cover.

"I'm telling you, it was an _accident_…besides I figured you could _fly_ back faster than we could _walk_ back together…"

"_Together? Together?_" Viridian's eyes fell on Elazul, who was standing with his guardian a little ways back. Taking another flying leap, he hovered at eye level with the taller Jumi, causing Pearl to cry out in dismay before running to stand by Ren instead.

"_This is all _your_ fault!_"

"My fault? How is it my fault?" Elazul snapped. "_I_ didn't teleport you into the middle of the market."

"_You_ _distracted her on purpose. Made her forget me!_" The dragon swiped his tail at Elazul's knees, sending him crashing to the ground, just missing an overturned wheelbarrow.

"Why you…" Elazul picked himself up, hand on his sword hilt. "Touch me again and you're going to be short a leg. Get back here!" he shouted as Viridian floated upwards, trailing bits of canvas and vegetables. The dragon stuck his tongue out in response.

Ren closed her eyes and counted slowly to ten. Then she deliberately turned her back on them, took Pearl by the hand and walked further into the market to survey the damage. It didn't look any better from close up. "Do they not know how to _aim?_" she whined. "Why couldn't they have set him down in the _forest?_"

"Maybe…we should help…" Pearl stared at the wreckage of a bread cart in front of her.

"Yes, we'd better." Ren sighed and grabbed the handles of the cart, heaving it upright. Around her, she saw a few of the merchants start to hesitantly gather up their goods, sending frequent looks at the dragon still hanging around the market entrance. Ren knew she should be apologizing, but instead she started picking up fallen bits of bread and chucking them in the cart. The mindless activity kept her from thinking about killing anyone.

"Elazul seems different."

Ren looked at Pearl, startled. The Jumi was standing with an armful of round loaves, but was looking distractedly down the street. "How so?" she asked, wondering at the sudden subject change. Then again, this was Pearl she was talking to.

"He seems…lighter and darker at the same time." Pearl frowned and dropped the loaves in the cart. "I don't know how to explain it to someone without a core to hear…" She looked at her hands for a while. "Our cores sing to each other, did you know that? Not with words or even melodies so much…but it's music if you know how to listen. I can hear his now." Pearl closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly. "It's different today then it was before he left. That's all I can say."

"I'm not very good at making comparisons," Ren said, which sounded better than admitting she couldn't remember anything to compare to. "Is it a good thing?"

"I…I don't know." Pearl opened her eyes and watched her knight for a while. "You didn't know him before. He was always angry. Angry and sad…"

Ren watched Elazul shake his fist at the dragon hovering just out of reach, then went back to cleaning, shaking her head. "He still looks pretty angry to me."

"It's not the same!" Pearl grabbed some rolls and tossed them on the cart in succession. "He was closed, like a book without even a title, and now he's opened up." She threw the last roll with enough to force to knock two more back off the pile. "But not to me…never to me!"

Suddenly she reached out and grabbed Ren's hand. "What happened in Geo? You have to tell me, the truth! Elazul won't…he never does. He thinks I can't handle it, or that I'm too stupid to understand, or something! He'll never tell me!"

"We've only been back for a little while…give it some time…" Mind still full of the disaster around her, Ren didn't really want to think about this right now.

"He'll _never _tell me! Even if I _ask_." Pearl hissed. "Even in the short time since you came back…I can feel him, I can _hear_ him hiding things from me! Please, Ren!"

Ren looked at those anxious silvery eyes and couldn't look away. Did all Jumi have to look right into your soul like that? "It's not that he thinks you're stupid…it's just…he doesn't tell you because he doesn't want to hurt you."

"It hurts more to be shut out!"

"Pearl…I can't really…"

"Damn overgrown snake." Elazul stormed up, kicking a bread loaf out of the way. "What do you keep him…hmm?" Suddenly he looked at Pearl. "Is something wrong?"

"No…no, I'm fine! I said I'm _fine_," she insisted as Elazul looked like he was going to contradict her. "I'm going back." Pearl snatched up her book and hurried off down the path towards Mark and Jennifer's.

"Was it something I said?" Elazul asked as she disappeared from view.

"No, it was something you _didn't_ say." Ren looked around to see if anybody had been witness to that random scene, but everyone seemed busily engaged in straightening out the place. She dropped her last piece of bread on the cart with a sigh. "Stop fuming over the dragon and help clean up the rest of this mess."

* * *

By the time they'd helped the merchants pick up their things, apologized for all the trouble, and offered to pay back any damages, night had well and truly fallen. Ren stretched out her back and stared sullenly at the now empty market.

"And I was so excited to come back, too. How am I supposed to pay all those people?"

"Chop Viridian into pieces and sell him," Elazul suggested. "Dragon parts go for incredible prices."

"And you're willing to do the honors, I suppose?"

"It's worth a shot." Elazul shrugged and started down the street. "Look, I've got plenty of…"

"You better not be about to offer to pay them off for me," Ren warned him, interrupting. "I'll think of something. Besides, none of them actually _said_ they wanted me to pay…either they're too nice or still afraid of Viri, who knows."

"But you're going to think of something anyway."

"Of course."

"_Now_ who's being too nice?"

They continued down the street until they reached the inn. "Great, this place again." Elazul sighed. "Miss, ha, Yuka gives me a headache."

"At least you get the room to yourself," Ren pointed out.

"I don't know which is worse, you pitching swords at me or that chicken singing downstairs."

"Tough call. Well…I'm exhausted. See you later." Ren started to turn away, then stopped, realizing she was a little reluctant to leave…except pausing gave her enough time to remember something else. "Where is Pearl now?"

Elazul concentrated. "Back at Mark and Jennifer's. Asleep, I think."

"You need to talk to her."

"Right now?"

"Of course not, but in the morning."

"She's…it's not a good idea." Elazul looked extremely reluctant. "Maybe after a little while, but right now…I just can't do that to her."

"The longer you keep it from her…the more it will…" Ren sighed. She hadn't meant to stay to give him a lecture; she should probably just leave after all. "Just talk to her. Tomorrow."

He was quiet for a long moment. "Maybe," he said finally, heading for the inn door. There, he stopped and looked back. "Good night."

"Night." As the door shut behind him, Ren felt suddenly alone. Without another person to talk to, all the thoughts she'd been pushing away boiled up inside her head and demanded to be heard, plus interest for being ignored for so long.

Walking at a brisk pace towards home, she tried to leave them behind, but they came along anyway.

* * *

By all rights her mood should have improved over the next couple of days. No nightmares disturbed her sleep, no angry mobs from the village came banging on her door, and even though she had doubts about opening the downstairs closet, the house was spotless. The garden was tended, the shed in one piece…so why did she feel like everywhere she was looking at holes?

Viridian refused to talk to her, or even look at her, and every time she saw him she had to stop and wonder what she might have done when he was little to make him this way now. She couldn't remember.

She looked at the twins and wondered why in the world they were living in her house, what had ever made her think she could take care of them? Except they seemed to be taking care of her more than anything else, and that was equally frightening.

Then there was Elazul. She saw him every day, and they'd talk about the most random things, anything _but_ the most obvious topics...and everything was fine. She preferred it this way...after all, why even pretend, when she knew nothing would come of it? When before long she'd forget everything…the underground chamber, Diana, the inn, the desert…one by one they would fade, she was certain of it. Why even try?

And always, always, that strange nagging feeling that a creeping darkness was lurking just behind her, that if she glanced over her shoulder, she'd see it there…

Ren looked up from the row of honey onions she'd been tending. She didn't want to think about that right now. Story of the last few days, really. Not wanting to think about anything. Shoving every significant thought that occurred to her off into the dusty back corners of her mind, while a desperate spirit voice tried to make itself heard from underneath it all.

_Don't ignore us!_

Throwing the last weed into the compost pile, Ren stood up. "Why think about anything when it will simply disappear anyway? I can't _hold on to it_ long enough!"

_That's why you have to act._

"Act? Act how? Where? When? _Why?_"

The voice did not reply, which only left her feeling even more foolish for standing in her garden yelling at the onions. Pulling off her gloves, she tossed them under a tree and headed for the house. Just as she exited the garden, though, she saw Pearl headed up the path towards her.

Pearl. The girl looked so _sad_ now, walking with her eyes fixed on some point in the air between her heart and reality, not really seeing anything at all. Ren sighed and went to meet her. "Hey."

The Jumi looked up, her eyes focusing abruptly. "Oh! Ren…were you going out?"

"No…just in the garden. What brings you here?"

Pearl looked around, like she'd just realized where she was. "Um…I don't know. I just kind of…wanted to go somewhere."

"Somewhere?" Ren tilted her head, then sat on the lawn and gestured to the ground next to her. "You're always welcome here, you know. You didn't get in a fight with El, did you?"

"Fight?" Pearl paled as she knelt next to Ren. "No, never. Elazul's always very nice to me. We never…fight."

"What, never?" Ren had trouble believing anyone could spend so much time around _Elazul_ and not even get in an _argument_.

Pearl shook her head. "But I…today I just wanted to talk to someone else. I can't stand to listen to him…" She balked at the word _lie_. "Not tell me things anymore. Even though I know he's just trying…he's trying to protect me, but…"

Ren stared at her in disbelief. "He…still hasn't _told_ you?" She had seen the pair together just the other day; Pearl had looked just as sad then, but Ren had assumed it was because Elazul had _told_ her about Geo and it was depressing her. She had figured that it would clear up in a few days…but it hadn't. In fact, it seemed to get worse.

Now she knew why. "That _idiot!_" she exclaimed. "What kind of game is he playing?"

"Don't be angry at him, Ren. I don't want you to…"

"Oh stop it. It's just ridiculous, that's all. What is he afraid of?"

"Afraid?" Pearl looked confused now. "Elazul, afraid?"

Ren sighed. "Yes, though not of the things normal people are afraid of, I think. I'm not going to pretend to understand it…but all this hedging around…it's like he's afraid of you. It's beyond stupid."

Pearl laughed a little at that, but it faded quickly. "I don't know. He just…he's always been like that. I just never really noticed…it never bothered me…until we met you."

"Oh?" Ren felt her face flush slightly, and looked back towards the garden to hide it. "What do you mean?"

"He _talks_ to you…and you can keep up with it. You can discuss things, and make _jokes_ and…understand each other…I don't know how to say it. I can't ever talk to him that way…" She looked at a grass blade clutched in her hands, seemingly fascinated by it for a moment.

"You mean telling him to shut up and throwing things at him?" Ren snorted. "You should try it some time, it's refreshing."

"No…" Pearl smiled a little, but not much. "It's like he's somewhere beyond me all the time and I can't catch up. You're there already…you're at his _level_…he _likes_ you…oh I don't know what I mean!" She threw the grass stem away from her, and it fluttered dejectedly to the ground.

"He likes you too…" Ren said, a bit lamely. "It's just different…I think."

"I don't want to be different," Pearl whispered. "I want to…be there with you both. I want to be…equal…"

Watching her sitting there, plucking bits of grass and letting them fall, Ren thought she might cry. It came out of nowhere and faded just as fast as she clamped down on the urge, but the base feeling remained. "I'm sorry…" she said, but couldn't think of anything else.

Pearl was quiet for a while, then turned abruptly towards her. "Ren…won't you tell me? I know I asked before, and I probably shouldn't have but…"

Damn Jumi eyes anyway. Ren clutched the grass next to her for a moment as Pearl continued to stare intently. "All right."

Bit by bit, she outlined what had gone on in Geo…meeting Esmerelda, losing her, fighting Sandra…talking to Diana. Cracks in the world and the fading of mana…the existence of a sword that could, ironically, heal all wounds.

Pearl was quiet through the whole tale, and for a long time after. When she finally did speak, it was barely audible. "She couldn't cry either? Not even for her sisters?"

Ren looked down at her. "No, but Sandra was trying to force her. I don't think it's something that can be…"

Pearl was obviously not listening. "And the Sword of Mana could fix it…could bring back our tears? Elazul…he was looking for something like that once. When we first…after he found me, in the desert…but he stopped."

"In the desert, huh." Ren stared out over the lawn. "Why did he stop?"

"I don't know!" Pearl stood up suddenly. "No I do…it was because of me. Because it was getting too dangerous…all those ruins and treasure hunters and…and…he stopped because of me!"

"I really doubt…" Ren tried to get through, but Pearl was staring into her own world somewhere. "Hey." She caught her sleeve, and the Jumi looked back, startled. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Ask him?" Pearl looked terrified of the very notion.

"Yes. Ask him. Talk to him, now that you know everything. It should give you one up, at the very least."

Pearl stared at her, wide-eyed, then pulled away. "I have to go! He'll be wondering where I am!" Turning, she ran off down the path.

Ren watched her go. She didn't feel as relieved as she thought she would about the whole mess. Pearl had seemed very…disturbed by it all…and now she was going to confront Elazul over it…

"He's going to kill me for this," she muttered to the grass, hugging her knees. "Well, it was his fault to begin with."

Ren watched the sun travel behind the trees, wondering why she suddenly felt so cold.

* * *

That night, after the twins had gone to bed, Ren found herself sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the wall. She couldn't sleep, could only turn recent events over and over…thinking about them all at once and then shoving them all aside, only to re-think them a moment later, and getting nowhere. Every possible scenario was bad.

Suddenly a loud knocking rattled the door, and Ren was surprised to realize she wasn't at all surprised. "It's not locked," she called.

The door swung inward, and Elazul stood in the doorway, pale as a ghost in the moonlight. "Is she here?"

Ren didn't need to ask. "Pearl."

"What did you _say_ to her?" His voice was strained. "I know she came down here, and I figured everything was fine…and then when I realized it was getting late, I couldn't sense her anymore. What did you _do?_"

Ren gripped the edge of the table. All her worst fears circled back to taunt her, and she brushed them off. "I told her," she said flatly. "I told her everything. About Sandra and Esmerelda and Diana, all the things you've been hiding from her."

"Why?" Elazul straightened, staring at her in bewilderment. "_Why?_"

"Because she deserves to know." Ren hated herself for doing this to him again, hated the look of betrayal on his face, but she refused to apologize. It had been the right thing to do, she was sure of it. "She wanted to know, it was tearing her apart to see you hiding it all from her. Like she was some kind of _child_. So I told her."

Elazul said nothing for a long time, as Ren simply stared at the tabletop. "You shouldn't have," he whispered finally.

"You're right." Ren stood up, gathered her sword belt from the floor and walked towards the door. Stopping under the door frame she looked him straight in the eye. "_You_ should have." Brushing past, she continued on across the lawn.

"Where are you going?" Elazul called behind her.

"To find her."

"If you'd kept your mouth shut and let me deal with it, we wouldn't _have_ to be finding her."

"If I'd let you deal with it, it would never get dealt with at all." Ren took the path leading away from her house and started scanning the bushes on either side, looking for signs of disturbance.

"You still shouldn't have told her!" Elazul insisted. "It wasn't your _place_."

"My place? My place? Helping a friend isn't my place?" Ren spied a bush with a few broken twigs and drew a sword, hacking it out of her way. "You know what? It doesn't matter! In a few days, I'll have forgotten all about it anyway. _You're _the one who gets to carry the grudge around forever. Have fun with it!"

Elazul fell silent, but Ren could feel his eyes burning holes in the back of her neck as she turned off the path into the woods. Several moons were bright in the sky, bright enough to allow passage through the trees, if not sight to any great distance.

She didn't think Pearl was the type to take more than a straight line south from where she'd left the path; the Jumi girl was simply trying to put as much distance as possible between herself and the source of her distress. So she walked as quickly as she could, peering for any flash of white or silver between the trees.

"Ren."

She stopped, staring into the vague grey woods. "What."

"We can't…" he took a deep breath. "We can't find Pearl if we're angry like this. I can't hear my own core right now, much less hers."

Ren turned. He almost sounded like he was trying to smooth it over. For a brief moment her mind screamed at her to _let it go now_, but she ignored it like she'd been ignoring it for days. "I'll find her myself then!"

"You?" Elazul looked at the nearly identical trees all around. "You couldn't find your way out of a four-sided _box_. You'll just get lost out here and then it'll be an even _bigger_ problem."

"Well, I'd hate to create another _problem_ for you. Especially since you were so reluctant to do anything about the one you _had_. A pretty simple one, that was too. All you had to do was _talk_ to her!"

"I'm her knight! I'm supposed to _protect_ her. That means protecting her from things like this, too!"

"That's what _you_ think it means. In your deluded, self-centered world, where you can feel like the strongest man in the world, protecting a weak, dependant, _ignorant_ guardian. You keep things from her so you can feel better about yourself, not to keep her from being hurt!"

Elazul hissed between his teeth. "You _know_ that's not true!"

Ren shook her head, but it was more a fidgety sort of motion to avoid looking at him. She did know that, why was she saying these things? She just had to lash out, keep this from somehow becoming her fault…like everything else… "You're supposed to be a team! You and Pearl!" she shouted. "You're supposed to work together, not just you, doing what you want, while she follows like…like some kind of _accessory._ Like _jewelry._"

Ren didn't even think about that horrible choice of words until she saw Elazul's eyes widen in shock. "Stop!" he nearly gasped. "Just stop. Why are you doing this?" He didn't seem to know what to do with his hands. One minute he almost seemed to be reaching out to her, the next they clenched into fists. Finally he stilled, his gaze hardening. "Are you trying to make me leave? Did you change your mind after all, decide it wasn't worth it? You only had to _ask_. You didn't have to do _this_." He waved at the trees around them. "Frightening Pearl off and…"

"I wasn't trying to _frighten_ her!" Ren found her voice again. "I was trying to make her feel better! So she wouldn't feel so useless, so alone and uninformed. To show her the things that were happening to make you so _depressed_ all the time, so she would stop thinking it was her fault! So she wouldn't feel like some idiot who doesn't know anything, who can't do anything _right_…"

Suddenly everything clicked. This wasn't about Pearl at all, it was about _her_. She was feeling useless, frustrated by the lack of memories that would give definition to her actions. Attacking Elazul because she felt guilty about clinging to him lately, guilty about throwing emotions at him that might not even be _real_ because she didn't know where they were coming from…

Selfish, selfish, selfish. Not only that, but acting like she was just concerned about Pearl, to hide it. Now she was hurting someone _else_ to make herself feel better…and it wasn't working at all.

"Oh goddess save me…what am I _doing?_" She stumbled backwards, felt a tree behind her and dug her fingers into the bark. "I didn't mean it, I didn't mean any of that." At this point, she wished she could cry, turn to stone and not have to see him looking at her anymore…but she wasn't even close to tears. She was somewhere beyond that, wanting to sink into the ground and simply disappear.

Looking up, she could see Elazul still standing motionless. She half expected, half wanted him to turn and leave, but he didn't. He stayed, watching her. Which meant she had to say something.

"I told her…because when she looked at me, I saw myself looking back," she whispered. "It was like a mirror, the clearest mirror. In Geo, in the desert…when I realized I couldn't remember so many things…I thought that maybe I finally understood how she felt, how Pearl felt…useless, alone, painfully aware of all the things she should know but doesn't." Ren left the tree and started to pace back and forth, two steps at a time. Finally she stopped, her gaze fixated on the leaves in front of her.

Elazul still said nothing, and she couldn't make herself look at him. "I didn't want her to feel that way anymore…but it wasn't for her at all, was it? It was for me…I thought if I could make her better, if I could fix what was wrong with her, then somehow, that mirror would reverse and I'd be okay too…" She let herself trail off, suddenly angry for saying anything at all. So now she was trying to make him feel sorry for her, instead of Pearl. More of the same. "Selfish!" she hissed, not even realizing she'd said it out loud, until she heard Elazul echo it behind her.

"Selfish?" He sounded almost…bemused, then continued in a lower tone. "Aren't we all, in the end? You…" She heard him take a few steps forward and stop. "Don't you see? This, here in Domina, this is the best Pearl has ever been. The happiest, calmest, most _normal_ she's ever been. Because…because of you. You made her your friend, introduced her to _more_ friends…gave her things to do, to help with, to think about. Something I haven't been able to do for her, ever.

"It's why I wanted her to stay here, to make friends and not to _worry_ about all the other stuff that's been going on. Don't you _see?_" His voice rose again. "That's why _this_ makes me so…you don't know how she was before!"

"No, I don't!" Ren shook her head violently. "I can't even remember how she was _when she came here_. Either of you. All I know is that for some reason it _matters_ to me…and I don't know _why_. I wanted to help her. I did…I did." Maybe it hadn't _all_ been selfish, she thought, as the screaming, arguing part of her mind began to calm down. "I guess I just went about it the wrong way. Again."

Elazul sighed. "I should have known you would feel obligated, after what you said before. I should have told her before it got to this point. You were _right_, but…I _knew_ this would happen. It's happened so many times. Even so, I was _going_ to tell her…and then you just jumped in and did it for me. Was I supposed to be fine with that?"

"No," she crossed her arms tightly in front of her, as if clinging to the air. "I knew you were going to hate me for it. I just thought it needed to be done anyway."

"I don't hate you."

Ren looked up, actually shocked. Trust Elazul to think of simplest answer possible to her wild rambling. "No?"

"No. I might be a little…hurt. Maybe. Frustrated, irritated, certainly, but hate?" he shook his head. "You're near impossible to hate, you know."

"You've been trying then?"

"For the past couple hours, yes."

Ren could feel her shoulders shake in a desperate sort of half-laugh. "At least you're honest." Her eyes drifted over the trees, up to the stars and back to the ground. "I really didn't mean for her to run," she said quietly.

"Of course you didn't." Elazul pointed at her. "_You_ wouldn't run, so you didn't think anyone else would. I might just understand Pearl a _little_ better than you on that score."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to…"

Ren turned towards him finally. Ducking under his hand, she flung both arms around his chest and held on. "Just let me apologize for once."

Elazul drew in breath sharply, and she thought he might pull away, but then she felt his arm across her shoulders. At first all she could hear was the beating of her own heart, then a clearer sound broke through, a high tone like a thousand glass chimes being struck at once, fading in and out with each breath.

"I can hear it," she whispered.

"Oh?" Elazul sounded completely unsurprised. Ren didn't stop to think about that, though, she was still listening.

"Blue," she murmured. "Like the last raindrops illuminated by the first ray of sunlight."

"Okay, now you're scaring me. Most people don't hear in pictures."

"El, you're impossible. Really." Ren sighed, figuring she was probably pushing enough limits at this point anyway. Putting one hand on his chest, she shoved him backwards. "It was clear to me anyway. Find her," she said, stepping away and watching him expectantly.

Elazul closed his eyes, looking grateful for the excuse, and stood still, listening. "That way," he gestured to the south. "And not very far."


	16. Hate

_**RaspberryIce:**__ I'm glad you find Ren's reactions realistic…I always worry that I'm going overboard. I can only hope I can hold on to that realism as the plot gets more…fantastic, so to speak. I'm a little worried about it myself, but…I'll do my best. :)_

_**hUeS -of- h a z e l:**__ Oh my. blush That's a lot of love. :D I'm glad you like it so much!_

_Let's see, Hazel asked a good question, and I might as well answer this since I'm sure other people are wondering too. The hero character will not be showing up, unfortunately…I have enough trouble keeping up with Ren. ;) You would not believe how different she is than how I originally planned her. It's a good change though. I think._

_Larc and Sierra and the whole dragon arc will be coming into play in…three/four/five chapters? Something like that, depending on how long-winded I am. (and I think you all know by now how long that is, heh) _

_Escad and Daena and the faerie arc will not. -hides from the Escad fan clubs- Don't take it the wrong way, I actually love that story arc as much as the others…I just could not find a way to fit it in and still do it justice. Trying to add believable characterizations, development, plot loops and interactions for Escad, Daena, Irwin, Matilda, and _all the wisdoms_, plus faeries, was just too much for me to handle this time around._

_However, I am planning on writing a sequel at some point that will cover that arc, as well as some other stuff I've taken out (like poor Bud and Lisa, they ended up getting much less attention in this story than I meant them to…) provided I make it through this one. And of course, provided people still want to see more of me by the time I'm done here. ;)_

_-pants- Okay, possible too much information…I'm done for now._

_Last note…Viridian has joined Ren and El on my deviantart page if anyone's interested…for once, he came out exactly as I imagined. Of course, I won't assume it's how anyone else imagined him, feel free to see him however you wish. It was a lot of fun to colour though. ;)_

* * *

16 – Hate

* * *

"This place has seen better days, hasn't it." Elazul stood at the edge of a dip in ground. Shattered rocks and uprooted plants lay haphazardly at the bottom, as if the whole area had simply sunk beneath them. "What did you do to it?"

"Me?" Ren started to slide her way down the slope. "What makes you think I had anything to do with it?"

"Because this is where…" Elazul jumped down from the top and stood waiting for her. "Nevermind."

Ren hopped off a log to the bottom and looked at the destruction around her. "You're right, I probably don't want to know. Where to now?"

Elazul pointed at the entrance to a tunnel, half blocked by a fallen tree. "Though why she would want to go down there _again_, I don't know."

"I don't think she was thinking that hard."

"Hmm. Well, it's a good thing she tends to gravitate to the same places, really. Makes my life easier." He climbed over the tree and started down the tunnel. Ren followed, but they didn't go very far before Elazul stopped again. "Did you feel that?"

"What?"

"Like… a cold wind."

Ren looked around at the slightly damp stone walls. "We're in a _cave_. Cold happens."

"It wasn't like…forget it, it's gone now."

As they continued down the tunnel, Ren watched the glowing green fungus on the walls slowly replace the light from the entrance. Glancing back, she found she couldn't see the way out at all anymore. She looked forward again, just in time for the tunnel to widen into a larger room. On the far side were several gaps leading deeper into the caves, while stalactites and other rock formations lined the walls, but the middle was fairly clear.

Ahead of her, Ren saw Elazul ease his sword from its scabbard. Doing likewise on principle, she moved up next to him. "What is it?"

"I don't know. I just don't like this. It's back again …can't you feel it?" His eyes darted around the cavern.

Ren shook her head and edged closer to him. Then she realized she was close enough to be in the way and that was kind of pathetic. Stepping aside, she looked around as well, but saw nothing. "Maybe…is it your core? Is it Pearl? Did something…"

"No, it's different…and it's fading again. Gone. Pearl is still over…" he started to lift a hand then dropped it quickly. "Come out!"

The shadows by one of the rock pillars shifted, and a painfully familiar red-haired figure emerged. Her voice echoed faintly from the walls.

"Ah, I knew if I waited long enough, you two would show up." Sandra took a few steps toward them and stopped, one hand on her hip. "Now…what brings you here, I wonder? Looking for a pearl, perhaps?"

"If you've…" Elazul started forward.

"I? I've not caught a glimpse of your pretty guardian. A slippery little gem, that." She looked around at the branching tunnels thoughtfully. "I know she's down here somewhere. Why don't you call her for me?"

"Like hell I will."

Sandra just laughed and raised a hand…an extremely familiar gesture… "Get back!" Ren yelled.

Both of them leapt away, just as the ground burst open and a second rockbeast reared up before them.

"Not another one…" Elazul groaned. "Don't you have any new tricks?"

"This one's bad enough!" Ren hissed at him as the monster charged.

This monster was faster…much faster. It didn't just look like an insect, it moved like one, scuttling from side to side and sweeping its legs across the floor with frightening accuracy. Ren tried to get past it, but it was always one step ahead of her. She and Elazul split in different directions to confuse it, but it pointed it's head straight up and sent a _rain _of crackling white beams flying all over the place.

The defenders hit the floor, and Ren heard a beam sear the rock just over her head. "What was that you said," she asked Elazul over the noise. "About new tricks?"

"Two seconds," he said.

"What?"

"Distract it! Give me two seconds!"

Ren looked at him doubtfully, but sprang to her feet anyway. As the creature looked down from its barrage, she ducked and rolled underneath it, coming up on the other side. Predictably, it turned to follow her path, darting out its neck with snakelike speed and snapping teeth at her weapons.

Suddenly Elazul leapt onto its back from the other side, slid down the now-lowered neck, and stabbed his sword straight into the top of it's head with a flash of brilliant light.

The rockbeast didn't even scream…it collapsed and disintegrated in a burst of sparks. Elazul jerked his sword free from the cave floor and turned towards Sandra, who was watching them with undisguised shock. "Like I said…anything _else?_"

"I hate you," she said through her teeth. "Both of you. I really do."

Ren could think of a hundred really witty replies to that, but instead she took the hunter's moment of blatant hatred as an opening and ran for her. Sandra hissed and raised her hand to summon yet another beast…

"That's enough of those. They wear me out." The voice came from one of the tunnels. Sandra turned towards it, much to Ren's delight as she moved to close the gap between them.

"Ren!" Suddenly Elazul grabbed her arm, dragging her backwards. "Don't go over there."

"But…" Ren looked at him in frustration, then blinked. "Are you…all right?"

"I doubt it," Sandra said nastily, turning back to them. "My lord has an interesting effect on some people."

"Your…lord?" Ren asked, but Elazul only tightened his grip and began backing away, pulling her along.

"Now hold on," the new voice continued. "We can't have you leaving so soon." A figure appeared faintly at the edge of the cavern's light. Ren squinted at it, but what detail there might have been was obscured as a wave of spiraling darkness blew outward from it.

Elazul shoved her to one side before it struck, pinning him to the stone behind them. Ren didn't have a chance to do much more than gasp before the second wave caught her and slammed her similarly into the wall, knocking what wind was left out of her.

Something that felt like strands of ice wrapped around her wrists, holding her in place. Looking to the side, she could see Elazul was no better off; whatever bound them was invisible, but unyielding.

"You are getting much stronger, my lord," Sandra murmured into the sudden silence. She sounded quite proud.

"Indeed." The dim figure moved slowly into the light, the darkness of the tunnel seeming to cling to him until part of it broke free to form the ragged hem of a trailing robe. The cloth of the robe swirled without any wind, tendrils of black and brown swishing along the floor.

Above the creeping robe however, was the face of an old, old man. Mottled and grey, it seemed little different from the stone around them. Greenish hued feet and gnarled hands with fingers much too long occasionally emerged from the folds as he hobbled slowly across the room, his back hunched as if against a great weight.

"That's it," Elazul hissed at her. "The source of the cold. It's worse now…draining. Dammit," he exclaimed suddenly, glaring at the ceiling. "Why does everything end up stronger than us lately? I never used to have this problem!"

Ren stared at him. Here she was, feeling about as helpless and terrified as she ever had, and he was making sarcastic commentary. "Are you completely _insane?_"

"I might be." Elazul watched the approaching apparition with a bleakness that belied his former tone. "So cold…"

Ren watched him with dismay, then looked back around the room, desperate for an escape. Their weapons were not that far away, dropped when the spell first hit them, if only she could get _down._

The old man had stopped by Sandra. "We are so close…and you insist on playing with jewel beasts," he sighed and started moving again. "Clumsy things. What if you _damaged_ him?"

"That was the idea," Sandra snapped, following.

"Much too rash." He shook his head slowly. "I am utterly tired of chasing that pearl through this labyrinth. Surely you could have taken the time to realize the opportunity this brings us?"

"The sound of his core shattering would have brought her running quick enough," Sandra muttered. She seemed to be in a bad mood, despite the sudden advantage she had gained.

"Well, that's one option, I suppose," the apparition continued calmly. "Still…" he came to a halt in front of Ren. Slowly he lifted his head to look at her, and his eyes were black, black as night from rim to rim, and deep down inside she thought there might be stars…

With a start, Ren jerked her head back, cracking it on the wall in the process. The pain made her wince and close her eyes. For a moment, she'd thought she was falling, falling through empty space that was so cold she could feel her soul slipping away, seeking somewhere to be warm.

"Fascinating," the old man said, and Ren's eyes flew open again. "You have the most interesting soul. I did not think your like existed anymore. How have you survived?"

"What do you mean?" she whispered, looking anywhere but back into those eyes.

"Such a faint light…and yet it reaches out anyway, pulling others in…we are more than similar, you and I."

Ren felt a blind panic rising inside her. She had no idea what he meant, but just the tone of his voice was frightening. It made her want to run, just run, anywhere, but of course she couldn't move. "Who _are_ you?"

"I am a star, a fallen star. One that watched from the heavens and longed always, always to shine as brightly as the world below. I reached out towards it, but I slipped and fell into the darkness between worlds. Until I found a way to return."

"I don't see the…similarity."

The old man looked vaguely irritated, but then he smiled ever so slightly. "Because I call to souls, just like you. I am the lord of a thousand jewels. The eater of dying stars. They shine so faintly, but I will blend them together into a brightness this world has never known."

"A thousand…jewels?"

"Not quite yet, I suppose, but giving you the exact number would ruin the suspense a bit, would it not?"

"What are you _talking_ about?" Ren nearly screamed.

"I wouldn't bother trying to explain anything to her." Sandra came up behind the robed figure. "It could take all week."

"I see." He turned away. "Still, it is fascinating. I wonder…" His gaze fell on Elazul, who was watching him with silent venom. Pacing slowly in that direction, he stood looking thoughtful for a while. "Does my presence cause you pain?"

There was no answer, and after an attentive minute the old man shrugged. "You see, it bothers me that I seem to cause harm to those I only wish to help."

"Don't give me that," Elazul ground out. "There is no way you will _ever_ convince me you're doing this for some greater good."

"We don't need your _approval_," Sandra interrupted angrily, but her companion waved her off.

"Hush, Sandra. Let him deny it if he wishes. Every star has its last outburst before it dies." Extracting a hand from his trailing sleeves, he pulled the Jumi's scarf away and stood staring at the deep blue gem beneath. He reached out with one finger and touched it lightly. Elazul flinched.

"Get _away_ from him!" Ren hissed, straining against the invisible bonds. The self-styled jewel lord glanced at her, then back at Elazul's core.

"It shines," he said with a sigh. "Not like any of the others. Is it because you've been traveling with her?" He gestured at Ren, but Elazul only looked away.

"Leave her out of this," he said, very quietly. The old man shrugged again.

"Sandra," he said, turning. "I must have this one."

"I don't want _his._" The hunter sounded almost petulant. "He's been consorting with a _human_."

The old man looked at Ren. "Well, you can kill her if you like. It strikes me as a bit of a waste, but…not nearly as much of a waste as losing the lapis would be. Sandra…" he said as she continued to glare. "We are running out of options, my dear. We've been over the mountains to the west and past the jungles to the east. Where else shall we go? Cross the ocean? Such a waste of time…"

"I'll find others. As many as you want…"

"This one _shines_, Sandra. Brighter than those broken down souls you've been feeding me lately."

Sandra's eyes narrowed, for a moment Ren thought she might actually be insulted enough to refuse…then abruptly she shrugged. "As you wish." She slid a knife into her hand and started forward. "But I'll take it _myself_."

Ren pulled against the restraints until she thought her wrists would break, but they held fast. "Stop talking about us like we can't hear you!" she yelled. "Our lives are not your damn playthings!"

Sandra pursed her lips. "Tempting as it would be to take the time to prove you wrong, I really do have better things to do right now." She flipped the knife sideways, as if to deliver a fatal blow in passing.

"_Stop!_" Elazul gave a strangled cry that made everyone look at him. The old man's eyes widened suddenly and Ren felt the bindings flicker before tightening even further.

"Sandra, I cannot hold…" the jewel lord started, but the hunter wasn't paying attention.

"You make me _sick_," she hissed at Elazul and spun towards him instead.

"Leave them _alone!_" Something whizzed through the air and struck the knife in Sandra's hand, sending it flying towards the wall with a clatter. Ren followed its path with her eyes and saw Pearl, standing in the center of the room, almost incandescent with rage.

Even as she looked, the diminutive guardian sent a second rock sailing across the cavern, striking the old man full in the chest. He gave a scream of pain, and the bonds holding Ren suddenly loosened.

Dropping to the floor, she flung herself at Sandra without a word, and knocked her to the ground. Ren fully intended to strangle her then and there, but the hunter materialized a second knife from somewhere and slashed blindly, forcing her attacker to roll out of the way.

Ren let her momentum carry her to where her swords lay, and snatched them up, kicking Elazul's towards him as she went. He didn't look terribly steady on his feet, but he grabbed his blade and swung it towards the old man as Ren charged Sandra again.

The hunter was reaching for her other knife, but she straightened quickly and put a decent amount of distance between herself and Ren instead. "I'm not going to fight you again."

"You don't have a choice."

"Don't I?" Sandra laughed, crouched low and sprang backwards, high enough to touch the ceiling. Twisting in midair as if to point out how humanly impossible it was, she landed easily on her feet…directly behind Pearl.

Ren froze. "Don't you _dare_…"

Sandra smiled over the shorter girl's head. "Now, this looks familiar. Where have I seen it before?"

Behind, Ren heard an unearthly shriek. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the jewel lord clutching his middle as if he'd just been struck, hard. Elazul lowered his sword and swung again, but the robed man suddenly disappeared in a swirl of darkness that exploded outward, causing even Sandra to jump.

Pearl must have felt the knife at her throat waver, because she twisted and brought an elbow back into the hunter's ribs, ducking under her arm and running towards Elazul. Sandra started to follow, but Ren slammed into her, driving her against a rock pillar. Dropping one sword she caught Sandra's knife arm and pinned it to the stone before she could strike. "You're _dead_ this time!"

"Not…when I'm so…close!" Sandra gasped. Bringing her other hand up, her fingers closed around Ren's sword as it drove for her heart. Blood trickled down the blade, but it halted.

"I can't die here," Sandra insisted, forcing the sword away as Ren stared into her eyes. Desperate, determined, piercing eyes. "You. Can. Not. Stop me!" Putting the rest of her impossible strength behind it, the hunter pulled back her other hand and let the knife fly.

Ren knew instinctively that it couldn't possibly hit her at that angle, and looked automatically towards Pearl, but the guardian was turning as well.

Elazul.

The blade struck its target with a sound like a bow snapping, but the echoes went on longer than that, a thousand glass bells shattering one by one. Ren found herself paralyzed, unable to move as each died away; she barely felt Sandra writhe out of her grasp and retreat. Only Pearl's sudden shrill scream jerked her back to reality.

Ren stumbled and ran, dropping her sword and falling to her knees beside Elazul. Across from her, Pearl was clinging to her knight, calling his name over and over. "He's not dead," Ren told herself firmly. "They disappear when they die…"

There was a long but shallow gash where the knife had glanced off Elazul's core. Ren used the edge of his shirt to stem the bleeding a bit, but what worried her most was the blue stone itself. A jagged crack split the right side, continuing deep within by the way the light refracted from it.

"Pearl," she said in a hoarse whisper, hoping against hope. The guardian didn't look up.

"I can't," she said, almost inaudibly. "You know I can't."

A cold despair settled over Ren like a freezing mist. She wanted to comfort Pearl, she wanted to shake Elazul awake, and most of all she wanted to get up and break Sandra into little tiny pieces, but she couldn't move.

"You still can't?" Sandra's boots clicked across the cave floor. "I really thought you would. Of all the guardians I've seen lately, you shone the brightest. A true shame. I was really hoping you could fix it so my lord wouldn't be too irritated with me…"

"Liar." Pearl's core flashed as she looked up at the approaching woman.

Sandra snickered, apparently she had recovered her composure. "You're right, of course."

Ren continued to stare at Elazul. _Move!_ part of her screamed, but she didn't look up, even when she heard Sandra stop just behind her. "Not the cleanest shot I've ever made," the hunter said thoughtfully. "But I suppose I was a bit distracted at the time." There was a faint scrape of metal on stone as she retrieved the sword from the floor.

Pearl's eyes widened. "Ren…" she warned, but Ren still didn't move.

"It pisses me off," Sandra continued. "Watching a _human_ interfere with Jumi affairs. As if you had any _right_. And _that_ one. Accepting it, as if it wasn't innately _wrong._ Forming a relationship with one of those who has hunted you for centuries? If you ask me, he invalidated his right to be counted among the Jumi right then. My lord doesn't _need_ his tainted core, no matter what he thinks."

Ren could see the knife that had struck Elazul, lying on the floor next to her, just within reach. _Don't think about it. Don't think. Wait._

"What, nothing to say? Tsk. I did I better job than I thought. I knew I learned something from our encounter in Geo." Sandra waited a moment longer, but if she was looking for an answer, she remained disappointed. "Well, goodbye then. You can die with him, should make you happy, yes? And if _that_ doesn't make the pearl cry…well…"

Ren heard Sandra shift, could see with her mind's eye the arm come up holding the sword, the weight balanced, crouching, leaning forward…_now!_

She snatched the knife from the floor beside her, rolling to the side. Sandra stumbled, intent on her kill, and was for a moment completely open. Ren brought the knife around in a swing aimed directly for the woman's throat.

Sandra threw herself backwards, just barely enough. The knife slashed a hairsbreadth away, catching only the material of her dress. For a second, Ren thought she might have struck true anyway, because the hunter shrieked and scrambled back, clutching at her throat.

Then she saw the real reason; beneath the shredded cloth of her collar, a darkish jewel lay embedded. Catching the eerie light from the mushrooms, it glowed a deep purple-red. "You…" Ren stared, the knife in her hand forgotten. "You can't possibly…"

"_Alexandra!_" Startled at the cry, both looked towards Pearl. The guardian was staring at Sandra with eyes wide in shock. Suddenly she clapped both hands to her head and screamed. "No! No! I don't want to…_no!_"

Her core flashed again, a white light that intensified to a blinding brilliance and then suddenly shut off, replaced by a darkness as deep as the other had been bright. Ren threw her arms over Elazul, fearing another attack in the dark, and felt him stir. His hand caught hers just as the darkness dissipated.

Above them stood a tall woman dressed in grey silks. As she turned slightly towards them, Ren could see a black core that refused to reflect the light. Her eyes were steely grey and focused on Sandra with ruthless hatred. Only her hair, silvery pale blonde, tied her to the shy Jumi that had been there a moment before.

"P…Pearl?" Ren stammered, but was ignored. Holding one hand out to the side, the woman spoke one word and a huge, long shafted hammer shimmered into being. Its head was crafted of dark stone and tapered to a wicked point. Taking hold of it, the woman swung it around to point at Sandra, still frozen in place.

"You." Her voice was like a tomb door closing.

"No…" Sandra started to back away. "You're _dead._ I killed you!"

"Did you?" The new woman took a step forward, and that was enough for Sandra. She turned on her heel and fled into the darkness. The source of her fear shifted her grip on the hammer and started to follow.

"Where are you going?" Ren shrieked, putting aside all strangeness for the moment. "You have to stay and help!"

The black cored Jumi stopped, looking over her shoulder. Calculating eyes scanned Elazul briefly where he lay.

"No point," she said flatly, and ran off down the tunnel.

Ren stared blankly after her for a moment, until an increased pressure on her arm dragged her gaze back down. "El?"

His eyes were open, if not terribly focused. "Who…was that?"

"I don't know." Ren glanced down the tunnel, then back quickly. "I really don't know."

"Help me up?" The question was somewhat pleading, as if he didn't really expect it to work. Ren set her teeth and got her shoulder under his arm, pushing him upright until he got his legs under him.

For a moment everything seemed stable, but the movement must have triggered something, because suddenly his full weight fell against her, her balanced slipped and she stumbled backwards. Elazul screamed as he hit the floor.

Ren dropped beside him in an instant. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I…"

Elazul managed to turn a slightly exasperated look on her. "Would you…stop that? I swear…" He winced and made a grab for her hand again. "Something's wrong…"

"What is it?" Ren couldn't think of any way things could possibly get _more_ wrong, then her eyes fell on the hand she was holding. The fingers were changing, darkening, the color slowly creeping up towards his wrist. At first she thought it was ice, the temperature seemed to be dropping, but as she looked closer she could see it wasn't freezing, it was _crystallizing_, turning to stone under her hand.

"Elazul…" she started, but he couldn't hear her.

"…hurts…" he gasped, and his grip tightened further. Putting one arm around his back, Ren pulled him close to her. Staring around at the cavern walls, she tried to think, but all she could hear were his cries of pain, shattering every thought that came to her.

"I don't know how to deal with this…" she whispered, then cut it off abruptly. "No, but I have to don't I? Everyone else has gone…" she looked accusingly at the tunnel that had swallowed Sandra and the woman who may or may not have been Pearl.

Feeling the grip on her hand abruptly loosen, she looked down in alarm, but Elazul had simply slipped back into unconsciousness. The creeping stone had progressed up his right shoulder and appeared to have stopped. For how long, she didn't know, but she didn't intend to stay here and find out.

"Come on," she hissed. "We're getting you out of here."

Dragging him across the cave and down the exit tunnel was no mean task, Ren found, especially when she worried about doing extra damage with each step she took. Still, she didn't think leaving him behind to go get help was a better option, so she kept at it until she could see the gleam of moonlight overhead.

"Dammit, El, you're heavy," she said as lightly as she could, sinking to the forest floor to rest. This proved to be a mistake…sitting still allowed all her worries time to catch up.

Elazul groaned suddenly, chasing away one set of worries and adding more. "…Ren?"

"I'm here," she said, leaning over so he could see.

"Where is Pearl? Ren? Where…"

Ren looked back towards the cave for a moment. "She…she's gone after Sandra." It was the truth, anyway.

"Gone after her? Gone…after? _Pearl?_ Why…" his eyes flickered briefly to the side, as if looking for his guardian, then closed.

"Elazul?" Ren looked around at the trees, pale pillars in the moonlight, and the darkness beyond. Alone, she was alone. "Someone help…" she whispered and her eyes were drawn to the sky. "Viri…_Viridian!_"

The force of her yell seemed to send a ripple racing outward, shivering the trees and bushes in an ever expanding circle. A haze blurred the air in front of her eyes, growing brighter and brighter until it obscured all vision. In the middle of it, something began to materialize…

_Stop! You cannot._ The voice belonged to Wisp, she was certain._ Not here, not now, not yet. You can…not!_

The light vanished with an abruptness that left Ren reeling. She didn't even know what she'd been doing…it simply seemed like the thing to do at the time.

"_Ren!_"

Looking up, she was only half-surprised to see Viridian appear over the trees, spiraling down towards her. "Viri…" she said softly as he landed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The teleport, Geo, it was all my fault…but please…please help me…" She tried to stand up, but her legs refused to hold her.

The dragon looked at her with concern and shook his head. "_Nevermind that. Are you all right? I heard…heard…maybe that's not the right word…_"

"I'm fine, but…"

Viridian looked down at the Jumi lying among the dead leaves. Slowly he sighed, a long, thin, reluctant sound. Then he shook himself all over and straightened. "_Come,_" he said quietly. Ren gathered the last of her strength and pulled herself onto his back. With surprising care, the dragon gathered Elazul into his forearms and drifted slowly into the air.

Ren leaned against his back, feeling tired, so tired. "Home…"


	17. Broken Heart

_I'm going to keep my usual rambling short this time, since the chapter came out much longer than I meant it to be…continued thanks for all the reviews! They really help. :)_

* * *

17 – Broken Heart

* * *

"There's nothing else I can do." Jennifer stood up, closing her bag. "I'm sorry."

Ren turned away from the window. Her eyes drifted over Elazul, lying bandaged and unconscious on her bed, then to the butterfly-woman. "Thank you," she said softly. "For trying."

Jennifer drifted over. For once, Ren didn't resist as she found herself pulled into a comforting embrace. Her shoulders shook slightly.

"It's okay to cry sometimes you know," Jennifer said soothingly.

Ren looked up. "No. It's not," she said, her eyes stubbornly dry. "Not for him."

Jennifer's eyes widened and she looked slightly embarrassed. "Oh. I…that's right. I'd forgotten." Her arms tightened and she stroked Ren's hair lightly. "That's sad..." She let go as Ren spun away and went back to staring out the window.

For a moment, there was silence, the Jennifer stepped forward again. "You love him, don't you?"

Ren gripped the windowsill so hard her knuckles whitened. "You're not helping," she whispered harshly. "_Please_ don't say anything like that."

Again, silence. Then Ren felt Jennifer's hand on her shoulder, turning her around. "Listen," the older woman said. "I know I said there was nothing I can do. That doesn't mean there is no hope." She glanced at Elazul. "He won't let go so easily, and neither should you."

"But…" Ren couldn't even meet her eyes. "What can I do?"

"Stay with him. Having a friend nearby is worth a thousand medicines and magics." Jennifer pushed her gently into the chair by the bed and bent to retrieve her bag before continuing. "I can take the twins with me for a while, if you want…"

"No…I think I need them here. This place needs someone…alive in it still."

Jennifer squeezed her shoulder and nodded. Just before she started down the stairs, she looked back. "I…hesitate to ask but…where is Pearl?"

Ren stared blankly at the bed, then shook her head slightly. Jennifer could interpret that as she wished, but there was no way she could speak of Pearl right now. She was having enough trouble keeping a grip on herself as it was.

As the door shut, Ren took up pacing. Sitting and staring at Elazul made her think too much, and thinking made her want to cry. It had been an escalating battle of will and emotion all morning. Jennifer's visit had interrupted it, staved it off for a while, but now it was back with a vengeance.

She wanted to reach out and shake him, wake him up, but she wasn't sure what would be worse, waking him up when he needed to rest, or trying and finding out she couldn't. So in the end, she just sat down again and stared and stared until her eyes began to glaze over.

Ren shook herself back to normality. She wasn't accomplishing anything this way. Leaning forward, she listened carefully. There, under the sound of his labored breathing. A tone that rose steadily in pitch, only to cut off and start again, over and over. Like half a scale sung much too high, it was a sad, broken sound that hurt to listen to.

"And yet I keep doing it," Ren muttered. She sat back quickly, glancing at Elazul to see if she'd disturbed him, but he didn't move. Sighing, she stood up. "It's not fair," she continued in a lower voice. "Just when I'd learned how to listen…"

Turning abruptly, she ran down the stairs. "Bud, Lisa...can you keep an eye on him for a minute? I need to…go outside…"

"Of course…" Lisa stuck her head out of the kitchen as Ren yanked the door open.

"Don't wake him up!" she called over her shoulder and ran out onto the lawn. The bright midday sun burned her eyes and made her squint, but it did the trick. Taking a few deep breaths, she sat on the grass, staring up at the sky.

Suddenly the sun was blocked by a dark shadow. Viridian floated down from above like a very large leaf, and settled to the ground in front of her. "_Well?_" he asked.

"Well what?"

"_Don't keep me updated or anything._"

"I didn't think you cared."

"_Who am I going to yell at if he dies?_" The dragon whined. "_Life would get boring._"

Ren blinked. The very oddness of that statement chased her thoughts away. The dragon was trying to be nice. He was trying to make her feel better. "Viri…" she said. "I'm sorry."

"_Hmm?_"

"For leaving you in Geo. I should have apologized a long time ago, but I've been…stupid lately."

"_I know._"

"Thanks," Ren tossed a handful of grass at him. "You know just what to say."

"_It's not your fault. It's that guy's,_" he gestured at the house, and, she supposed, at Elazul. "_Stupid must be contagious._"

"Maybe if you just took the time to get to know him…" she started, then broke off, watching the grass blades flutter in the wind.

The green dragon rested his chin sadly on the ground. "_You can cry to me, you know. I won't turn you to stone._"

Ren leaned against his neck, stroking the fur there. "No," she said quietly. "Once I start, I won't ever be able to stop."

Viridian was silent for a long time, staring off across the lawn. "_You love him?_"

"Viri!" Ren pushed away from him quickly. "Where did that come from?"

He lifted his neck and turned golden eyes on her in surprise. "_You will not cry for any reason, because if you do, you'll think of him. You'll think of him no matter what. It is easy to see._"

"What is with people today?" Ren looked away from his intent stare, but knew she wasn't fooling anyone. "Is it so obvious? To everyone but me?"

"_It's not obvious to you?_" Viridian snorted. "_Humans must be very nearly blind. Why don't you just tell him and be done with it?_"

"It's not that simple, Viri."

"_He probably already knows._"

"Well then, why say anything?" Ren snapped and stood up, starting for the house. Then she stopped again. It wasn't Viridian's fault, and she really did need to talk to someone. "I can't! Don't you see?"

"_Yes. He's a bit unconscious right now. Makes it difficult._"

"That's not what I meant," Ren said with exasperation now. "I can't say anything like that, because I don't have the _right_. I can't remember _why…_and even if I did say something…I'd only forget. I'd _forget_, Viri! …and that would be worse than not saying anything at all."

"_You wouldn't._"

"How can you say that? I forgot you, didn't I?"

"_You like him better than me._"

"Oh for the goddess' sake, don't turn this into _that_ kind of discussion!" Ren glared at him. Viridian looked up at the sky, then around at every individual tree, giving each his undivided attention. Obviously he was going to ignore her now. Wonderful.

" _'s true,_" he mumbled finally. Then he looked at her, eyes clear and unblinking. "_But I'm over it._"

"Oh, sure you are."

"_I am._" Viridian raised his chain haughtily. "_So you don't have to worry about me. You should tell him._" Lowering his head again he dropped to a sly whisper. "_It might make him feel better._"

"You know what…I should know better than to try to have a serious conversation with you." Ren sat down again. Somehow she had ended up being sandwiched between wanting to laugh at Viridian and being even more depressed than before, and it was making her dizzy.

"Besides, it's not going to help," she insisted stubbornly. "He doesn't want me to…because of the curse…like you said. He doesn't want me to turn to stone, and…and…well look at me! Out here having a staring contest with the sun to keep from crying!"

"_Then he should leave._"

"Viri!"

"_What? It's true. If that was all that mattered, he should have left a long time ago. But he hasn't, he didn't. He stayed with you. Why?_"

"Because…because…" Ren slammed a rather half-hearted fist into the ground. "Because!"

"_Humans are so complicated._" Viridian stretched and lay on the grass nearby. "_I just can't see what the big problem is._"

"I thought you didn't _like_ him!"

The dragon wriggled a bit, scratching his back on the grass and ignoring her for a while. "_I don't like him, because when he's around you forget everyone else, but…_"

"I forget everyone anyway," Ren sighed.

He rolled back to his feet and looked down at her. "_You don't. You forget things that happened. Events. Names. Directions. You don't forget _people._ Who they really are, what they mean to you, that stays._"

Ren stared up at him in blank amazement. Somehow he'd gone from raging jealous sulky kid to confidant and counselor in just a few days. A few minutes, even. Back and forth like a game of catch. "Who are you, then? You're not the little dragon that chases sproutlings and tries to eat the mail birds…the one who wreaks havoc in city streets and breaks down gates and window frames…who are you?"

"_I don't know._" Viridian clung to the ground, driving his claws into the grass as if he might be flung off into the night. "_I'm not who I am or who I was, I need to be something else, but I don't know what it is. Everything changes so quickly…_"

A thought began to form in the back of Ren's mind. At first, as far as she could remember, Viridian had been something like her. Eager for a fight, ready to run into anything head first and claws blazing. Then he'd spent a lot of time with the twins and ended up…kind of sulky and childish. And just a minute ago…making jokes about life or death situations? That was Elazul all over. Not to mention the sudden forceful practicality…could he be growing up so fast he had to pick up personality traits from others? The thought was ridiculous, but she was sure if she puzzled over it some more…

There was a shout from the house, followed by what sounded suspiciously like a muted explosion. Viridian looked up, puzzled, towards the second floor window.

"Oh no…" Ren leapt to her feet and ran for the door. "Oh no oh no oh no…tell me they _aren't_ doing something really _stupid…_" Tearing up the stairs she burst into the bedroom.

"Just hold still, this'll work great, I'm sure!"

"Ren!" Elazul tried to get up, but Bud and Lisa had him pinned down. "Get these two demons away from me!"

Ren snagged both by the backs of their robes and deposited them on the floor. "What in the _world_ are you doing?"

"They're trying to finish Sandra's job," Elazul insisted, still struggling to sit up and glaring at them. Ren let go of the kids and pounced on him instead, shoving him back.

"You stay put," she snapped, thought she was a little relieved to see him capable of trying, at least. Turning to the twins again, she tapped her foot. "I thought I told you not to wake him up!"

Lisa glanced guiltily at Elazul. "We just wanted to help…" she started, but Bud bowled her over verbally.

"Well first we thought that we could fix him, you know, with a binding spell like we use on vases and windows and things? But it didn't work, so then Lisa said it was kind of like a stone, right? So maybe an earth spell, but we didn't really know any earth spells for _fixing_ rocks, only summoning them…"

"You summoned _rocks_ at him?" Ren suppressed a really inappropriate hysterical giggle that tried to escape.

"No, we didn't actually get that far…" Lisa explained.

"Because! Then I had the greatest idea!" Bud continued. "If we could get the right sort of fire spell, we could just sort of blend the crack away, right? Fire melts glass, even, so if we got it hot enough we could…"

Elazul groaned. "Okay," Ren said. "I think that's enough really…go on, out of here."

"I wasn't really going to let him do it…" Lisa waved her hands frantically.

"Aw, Lisa, don't be a kiss up, you were totally suggesting picking some cherry bombs for reagents…"

"Out!"

The twins scuttled for the stairs as Ren pointed an imperious finger. "I know, what if we mixed up some kind of _glue_…" she could hear them whispering as they disappeared.

Ren turned back to Elazul, both hands covering her mouth.

"You're trying not to laugh, aren't you. You have _no idea_ how not funny this is."

"Mmm, no I probably don't." Ren dropped her hands, but couldn't help grinning a little. "Come on, they wouldn't have…"

Elazul settled back with a sigh. "I know, I know. But really, waking up with _those _two sitting on your chest trying to er…help, did they say?"

"I'm sure they thought it would help. Somewhere in their magic-addled brains."

"Goddess save me from all magicians." He raised his eyes to the ceiling. Then they dropped and drifted around the room. He raised one hand to his core without thinking, then stopped and looked at it, flexing the now-crystallized fingers one by one.

_Don't let him think about it, don't let him… _ "You seem to be feeling better!" she exclaimed with a brightness that sounded so completely inane she almost winced.

Elazul looked at her like he couldn't understand a word she was saying. Then slowly his expression changed. "Yes…of course. So you can stop hovering like a vulture now. I think I can probably…" He started to sit up again, but Ren reached out and laid a hand on his forehead, forestalling him.

He watched her carefully. "I told you, I'm fine. You see?"

"Don't play on my ignorance. Do Jumi even get fevers?" she asked, sitting back. He was talking way too fast; Ren was certain he wasn't as fully in control of himself as he thought he was.

Elazul looked out the window as if seeking an alternative answer outside. "No," he said reluctantly.

"I thought not, but you've been cold as ice since I brought you here, and it's no different now."

"Ah." He felt his head himself, with his left hand this time; he seemed to be studiously ignoring the other one. "Like…an anti-fever, maybe?" Ren just glared at him, but he went on, ignoring her. "We don't really get…sick. No poison…or sunburn, or frostbite. A great poet once said that we were…insulated by the spirits. A people apart, that the world does not touch…no flaw to disfigure the sacrifice given…something like that."

"You're quoting poetry at me? You must really be unwell."

"Paraphrasing. I'm not really much for poetry myself."

"You could probably do it better justice if you didn't sound so bitter about it."

Elazul snorted. "It's an ideal, with very little bearing on reality. Why spend time praising the strengths of the Jumi when we can still be so easily…" he stopped, staring into space. "So easy…Pearl…"

"Eh?"

"Pearl…she's out there somewhere, unprotected. I need to go after her! What am I _doing_ here?"

Ren watched him struggle to his feet and stand there, swaying a bit until he caught the back of the chair for support. She leaned on the door leading to the stairs.

"Do you really think you're going to get past me like _that?_"

Elazul looked for a moment like he would try anyway, but lost his balance and stumbled against the wall instead. "Ahh…"

"That's what I thought." Ren left the door and escorted him back to the bed. "Lie down." Dragging her chair back over, she sat down like a sentinel, keeping him from leaving again.

"You know, if I die of anything at this point, it's going to be terminal embarrassment," Elazul muttered, glaring at her.

Ren started to laugh again, but the words lodged sideways in her brain and cut it off. She looked away quickly. "Please don't say that. You're not going to die here. Of anything."

When she looked back, Elazul was watching her oddly. "No…of course not," he said slowly, but the façade was broken now. Whatever burst of energy he'd dredged up had run its course, and he looked tired again, though he was still trying to hide it.

"Ren…" he said, when she was silent for an uncomfortable interval. "What happened to Pearl?"

Ren blinked, jolted back to reality again. "Oh…well…I…she…"

Elazul sighed. "Stop trying to think of something to tell me. Just the truth. Please?"

"I don't know the truth. You saw her…when you were injured she just…snapped. No…when she saw Sandra's…"

"Sandra is Jumi…" Elazul said, not even seeming to notice that he was interrupting. "I never even sensed it before, she hid it so well, but…I _felt_ the hatred from her core just before she struck. It was paralyzing. How could she hate her own people like that?"

"Humans fight each other all the time. Why should the Jumi be of one mind about everything?" Ren wondered if he was even hearing her; he seemed to be drifting, eyes staring at nothing in particular.

"You didn't feel it…what did we _do_ to her?"

"El, you better not be feeling sorry for her, because I am going to kill her, make no mistake. For what she's done to you, to me, to Esmerelda…to however many others she's killed, and now…for what she's done to Pearl. She changed her somehow…into a monster. A cold hearted monster…"

"Pearl…" Elazul closed his eyes for a moment. "I've been…rather horrible to her, haven't I? Lately…no wonder she left me behind…"

"No!" Ren started from the chair. "That wasn't Pearl, El. That's wasn't her at all…Pearl would never have, never in a thousand years…"

_But she did. She ran away and left you. Left her knight to die with someone who had no possible means of aiding him. In a cave in the middle of nowhere with enemies nearby…_the nasty voice in her head droned on. She wished she could blame it on one of the spirits this time, but it was her own voice; loud and clear and bitter as anything. It frightened her.

"No," she insisted, trying to ignore herself. "It wasn't Pearl. There was no recognition in her eyes, not for us. She was focused, so focused on Sandra, I don't think she even knew we were there…"

"Find her."

"What?" Ren stopped her wild attempt at an explanation and stared at him.

"Find her for me! I can't…"

"No." His eyes widened, but she cut him off before he could speak. "You know I love Pearl, but there's no way…not even for her. I'm staying."

Elazul looked almost panicked at that. "You can't. Please, go find her…what if she needs help? You wouldn't leave her to…"

"Die?" Ren hissed. "Like you want me to leave you now?"

He fell silent, refusing to meet her eyes. She waited a moment longer, then sat back down. "I'm not leaving. Besides," she said in a calmer tone. "_That_ Pearl could take care of herself."

Ren could tell that was probably not the right thing to say, but Elazul didn't seem to want to talk about it anymore. He was staring blankly at the wall again. She sighed and looked intently at the arm of the chair for a while. Obviously, and she forced herself to think about things she'd been trying not to think about, he thought he was dying and didn't want her to see it.

Easy as it would be to shout and deny it, it was true that there wasn't anything she could _do_ about it either. Except…perhaps…try to make him feel better. He was worried, and that couldn't be helping. Worried about Pearl…and worried, maybe, about _her._

Maybe? _Face facts_, she told herself. Remember what Viridian, of all people, said. It was tempting to try to talk to him about it, then and there, but looking at Elazul, she had a feeling he wasn't going to comprehend anything terribly _complicated_ at the moment.

"El," she said, leaning forward again. "If, and I'm only saying if…something does happen to you…I'll take care of Pearl. I promise. So don't worry. Just rest, okay?"

He looked at her then, almost incredulous. "Ren…" he said quietly. "You always know exactly what to say."

Ren watched his eyes close. "No…I don't," she whispered, after she was sure he was asleep. "Not ever."

* * *

The night was a disaster. Elazul kept waking up, in varying stages of coherency, but it seemed to get steadily worse each time. The last time he seemed not to see her at all, despite the fact she practically had to pin him to the bed to keep him from getting up and probably falling down the stairs. Finally, Lisa had come tearing down from the attic, awakened by all the noise, and hit him with a full-strength sleeping spell.

It worked, but Ren's nerves were shattered, and she hadn't slept at all. The look of pain in his eyes as he looked right through her…

"Laundry, Ren, you're doing laundry. Focus!" she interrupted herself, sending dirty water splashing all over the floor in frustration.

Housework had been her chosen task all day. It was something to do, anyway. She was currently trying to get blood out of Elazul's shirt, which was probably a lost cause, but she gave it an extra scrub anyway.

"It doesn't make sense," she said to the water as she poured it out the window. "Diana said the Jumi crystallized their hearts…so why do they bleed? Does the blood run _through_ the crystal? Or was it souls…what did she say again?" Ren hung the shirt on the back of a chair and looked at it speculatively. "Either way, they must be held together by magic."

Magic that was fading with the waning power of mana, a snide thought reminded her. Ren turned suddenly and ran upstairs. Peering around the door, she could see Elazul still asleep. "Okay," she continued to herself. "You need to stop doing that."

Looking around for something else to distract her, she was about to inspect the suspicious downstairs closet when the front door opened. Bud and Lisa ran in, clutching a set of weapons. Familiar weapons. Three swords that she'd left…

"Where did you get those?" she gasped.

"Viridian showed us where!" Lisa explained. "We noticed you didn't bring them back with you, so we thought…"

Ren snagged the swords and dropped them on the table. Then she grabbed each twin by an arm. "_What did you think you were doing?_" she hissed, her grip tightening. "What would I do if I lost you as well?"

"Lost us?" Bud scoffed. "It's just a cave. We've been down _loads_ of caves."

"Not caves that might have that…that _thing_ in them still. What if it came back?" That old man with the eyes that froze your soul…Ren shuddered involuntarily.

"We had Viri with us," Lisa said, but she looked worried now. "Nothing would attack a _dragon_."

"He couldn't fit down the tunnel…"

"It wasn't that far…"

"We only wanted to help…"

Ren released them abruptly. Of course they only wanted to help. They always wanted to help and it always went wrong. That was so depressingly familiar she couldn't stay angry at them. "Oh nevermind," she sighed. "You're back, you're safe. I suppose there's nothing to be done about it _now._" She glanced at the table and wondered vaguely where she'd put her sword-belt in all the confusion.

"Besides," Bud started up again. "We thought _he_ might be a little upset if…er, _when_ he recovers and finds out his sword got eaten by a cave slug or something. That's a decently powerful weapon there. I doubt he'll find another like it in a hurry."

"Oh?" Ren peered at the sword. "What's so special about…hey! You guys didn't stay down there and _experiment_ on it, did you?"

"Well no…" Lisa hedged a bit. "Not in the _cave,_ precisely…"

"But outside, we did take a _look_ at it. Just a look."

Ren snatched the sword back from the table and checked it over pointedly.

"We didn't do anything to it, boss." Bud sighed. "But watch this." He reached out and touched the weapon, spoke a word. In the back of Ren's mind, she almost thought she heard a spirit hum in response, and white light flared up the length of the blade and died almost immediately.

"Er…" Ren held it out at arms length. "Is it going to explode?"

"No." Bud rolled his eyes. "_Look._" He pointed at the base of the blade; close to the hilt a rune was glowing faintly.

"What does it mean?"

"Fate," said Lisa. "And on the other side, to break, or shatter." Ren turned the sword over just as the symbols faded completely.

"Break fate…" Ren sighed. "Sounds ominous."

Bud shrugged. "Who knows? But he'll want it back, don't you think?"

"All right, you're forgiven." Ren gathered the swords into her arms, somehow avoiding cutting herself. "But don't do it again!"

" 'course not," Bud waved a hand dismissively. "No more swords down _there_."

Ren glared at him, but with her hands full of weaponry, there wasn't much else she could do. "Just for that, I want you two to clean that closet," she pointed with her chin. "Don't give me that look, I _know _you've stashed something disgusting in there."

Leaving their dismayed gazes behind her, Ren climbed the stairs and deposited the swords on the bedroom table instead. After a bit of searching, she managed to find Elazul's sword-belt, and eventually her own, which had ended up under the washstand.

Sheathing the blades one by one, she stopped. Her second sword still had reddish stains clinging to it. _Sandra's_, she remembered, and her hand tightened on the hilt. Forcing it to relax, she hunted around a bit more until she found some oil and a stone, then dropped into her chair. Soon the rhythmic sounds of cleaning and sharpening the blade filled her mind, accented by increasingly dark thoughts as the afternoon light began to fade from the window.

"Ren." She looked up to find Elazul's eyes fixed on her, and wondered how long he'd been awake. Carefully, she set the blade to the side of the chair, but he didn't say anything else. She was tempted to wave a hand in front of his eyes just to see if he was there.

Suddenly he reached out and caught her arm, almost as if she had. For a moment his eyes focused with their usual clarity, and he looked like he wanted to say something important, but it faded. Instead his gaze seemed caught by her hand, and the dark bluish stone encircling her wrist. "Always you and swords," he said, nonsensically.

Ren sighed. It was going to be another of _those_ conversations. "Yes, well. You're one to talk."

"Why don't you have any scars?" he said, turning her arm over and over.

"I do…see right here?" She traced the line along her upper arm. From Sandra, in Polpotoa, she recalled, but didn't want to mention the hunter out loud.

"Recent," Elazul dismissed it. "Where are the old ones?"

"What old ones?"

"You're a good fighter, right? You swing those swords by instinct alone."

"Yes, that would be why I don't have any." Ren tugged on her wrist, but the grip of that stone hand was amazingly strong.

"No, no, no." Elazul shook his head. "To get that good, you must have practiced. I mean, I assume at some point you started out _not_ that good, right? When you're learning, you get hit, and you end up with scars. Especially on the arms…I've got…well, anyway…where are yours?"

Ren didn't have an answer to this, but seeing the glazed look in his eyes, she had a feeling it didn't matter. "Let go of my arm, El, you're going to break it." She was surprised at the practical tone that came out, she wasn't feeling very practical anymore. "You may not have a fever in the conventional sense of the word, but I swear you're delirious. Let _go_."

The stone released its grip abruptly. Elazul raised it over his head and flexed the fingers a few times. "I suppose stone won't scar though. Not easily. Lucky that…" he covered his eyes for a moment. "I should go try it out. I shouldn't be here…"

Ren massaged her wrist, wondering how long they were going to go in circles over that topic. "Elazul, if you try to get up one more time, I'm going to tie you to the bed, understand?"

He raised his hand from his face and looked at her, but his eyes lost track before he could say anything, and he drifted back into unconsciousness. Ren waited to make sure he wasn't faking it, then stood up and went downstairs.

Pouring a glass from the well bucket, she drained it in one go, then filled it twice more. "How long is he going to go _on_ like this?" she yelled suddenly, throwing the glass against the wall. It didn't even have the decency to break, so she picked it up and threw it again and again until it did, sending shards flying all over the room.

A door creaked open, and Bud and Lisa peered out of the library, looking worried. "Ren?"

"What? Don't come in here without shoes."

Lisa walked over to where her broom rested beside the stove, and began sweeping. "I'll get it. You need to rest."

"I can't, there's a Jumi in my bed."

"Sleep in our bed," Lisa suggested. "Sleep on the couch, the floor, the _table_ for all I care, but you do need to sleep."

"For the goddess' sake would you two stop being my _parents_ and act like _children_ for a little while? I can take care of myself!" She started to storm out the door, but remembered Viridian was probably out there and she didn't want to talk to him right now either. That left upstairs, again.

"Why don't you let us watch him for a while?" Bud asked as she put a hand on the banister. "We won't do anything this time. At this rate you're going to end up cry…crazy," he switched words quickly, but Ren caught it.

"I'm _fine_," she snapped, and went upstairs anyway. Closing the door she waited for a minute to see if the twins would follow, but they didn't.

Retrieving the sword she'd put aside, she sheathed it and set it on the table with the others. There, her eyes fell on Elazul's, its worn scabbard accenting the brightness of the blade as she pulled it out a few inches. "Break fate," she murmured, replacing it. She leaned against the table, staring across the room. "Isn't that what you're always trying to do?"

Walking over, she sat down by the bed again. Back to watching, waiting. For how long? Days? Weeks? Maybe just hours…was it just her or did his breathing seem shallower now? Leaning forward to listen, she could just barely hear the crystal tones... "Are you giving up?" she whispered. "Always against the tide, the forces that push you back, that insist that _this is how it must be._ I've seen you falter, but…are you giving up now?"

There was no answer, of course. If anything, the sound seemed to grow fainter, his skin colder as the sunlight faded from the window. Reaching out, Ren laid her hand over his core, as if she could trap the life that lay within, hold it back.

"Stay," she said. "Please?"

She ran her fingertips slowly over the line beneath them. Such a small thing, that crack, just a thin line. A thin line between life and death. "How can it happen? How can someone so strong be hurt by something like this?" she whispered. "I won't let it happen!"

Standing up abruptly, she paced around the room, agitated. This couldn't be happening. He was going to die and there wasn't a thing she could do to stop it.

"I haven't been handling this very well, have I? Just in denial…I _should_ have been doing something, trying to figure something out, to help. Even the twins had the right idea there, though they went about it the wrong way…what have I turned into lately? Ignore things and hope they go away? I'm not…I shouldn't be like this…" She glanced back to see if she'd woken him up yet, but he was still out.

"Do you remember," she asked, stopping by the bed again. "Something that I can't? You always seem so confident in me, in my abilities…do you see something I don't? I know we haven't known each other that long. Certainly not by your standards, but…for me, it's my whole life. I don't know anything else, and even what I do know gets less day by day. But…you remember. I want to know how you see things.

"You can't die, you can't! You…and not just you…but right now, I'm worried about you…you're my link to reality. I can't even remember how we met. I only know that I..." she stopped. "At least…I think I…" she sighed. "I can't even say it when I know you can't hear me. Is that even real? Or am I just imagining things because I need something…something to fill this void…"

Ren knelt carefully beside the bed. All she'd done was succeed in confusing herself once again. Everything had seemed so clear for a moment there, but it slipped away, like it always did. "You see?" she continued, stubbornly, even though she knew he didn't. "If I lose you, I'm nothing. I'm nothing by myself. I need people to focus on, to care for, or else I'll be empty…empty….there's nothing else inside me!

"You need to wake up. Really wake up, no more of that nonsense. You need to live, live and remind me who I am!" Leaning her head against the sheets, she watched him for a long time, but he didn't move. His breathing remained shallow, distressed.

"You're going to make me cry, El," she whispered so softly she could hardly hear herself.

_Don't._

It was a soft voice, a female voice, and familiar, so familiar. A blue glow was hovering in front of her eyes now, very faint.

_Don't cry. I will help…I'll help you…_

_Undine, you are not strong enough!_ A second voice broke in, and a white light eclipsed the blue. Wisp.

_I have strength enough for this. I cannot sit idly by._

_We cannot interfere,_ the light spirit insisted. _You know this._

_You have, once already,_ a third voice joined them, a reddish light.

_That was different. Against the darkness. This…this is not…_

_Not what?_ Undine's light grew brighter, the form within it sharpening. _Important enough? You have forgotten, Wisp, after all these years, what is really important._

_I know what is important! That light, the holy power, we must bring it back, have _you_ forgotten?_

_That's Wisp for you,_ a fourth voice jumped in. _Always holy light and justice and _right.

_No rhymes, Aura, you are far too young to get involved._

_She is right,_ Undine stood up for the other spirit. _You cling so tightly to your ideals, but you have forgotten such things as compassion. That light we all crave, will not come for cold reason._

"Stop." Ren stood up suddenly. "All of you, be quiet."

The silence in her head was deafening, as she could feel six pairs of spirit eyes staring at her in amazement. "I should be overjoyed that you're all feeling so talkative, but I don't give a damn." The tears that had been threatening to fall had disappeared, dashed away by the shock of spirits having a full-blown _argument_ in her head. "Can you help or not? Because if you can't, you all need to _shut up_ and _leave_. I don't want your _company_ right now!" She sliced a hand through the misty visions in front of her, and they flickered.

The silence continued as the forms of Wisp and Undine struggled for solidity. _I am sorry…_ The water spirit seemed distraught.

_We can help,_ Wisp said grudgingly. _But it will cost._

"Cost?" Her eyes fell on Elazul.

_Not him,_ the light spirit flew up in front of her eyes. _You. That fragmenting that you fear so, the slipping of your mind, your sanity, your memories. You hasten it every time you call on us._

"But you can save him?"

Wisp sighed. _We cannot heal him. Not completely, but we could…stabilize him. Perhaps. I do not know._

"Try."

_Do you not understand what I am saying? You are…_

"What, going to go even more insane than I already am? Have you even been _listening_ to me for the past few days? You think I _care?_" Ren wanted to reach out and strangle the strange floating thing. "_Try!_"

With a flash, the spirit disappeared. Undine lingered a moment longer; she seemed to be smiling. Then she too disappeared, and the room was dark. Just when Ren began to worry that she had chased them away after all, the light began to grow again, brighter and brighter until she couldn't see.

Stumbling, she hit the side of the bed and dropped to the floor next to it again as the light receded. "El?" she called softly, and thought she heard an answer, not in words, but in that high crystal sound from far away. Sighing, she leaned against his arm and let a sudden extreme weariness carry her off to sleep.


	18. Divided Soul

_This chapter took me long enough. Sheesh. Sometimes I need to stop and tell myself not to THINK SO HARD about it._

_Broke a review record with the last one, I'm all happy! Love you guys. :D_

* * *

18 – Divided Soul

* * *

Ren woke up with her usual slowness, lying in bed and letting her thoughts coalesce into something approaching coherency. Her head was pounding fiercely and as the events of the past few days came back into focus, she had a brief moment of hope that it might have been some horrible hung-over dream.

Very brief. Groaning and rolling over, she opened her eyes to see Lisa peering at her intently. Two more seconds of thought reminded her that she was _in her bed,_ which meant that someone else was _not_, which meant…

Ren sat up, ignoring the dizziness this brought on, and grabbed the elf's arm. "Where. Is. He?"

"Don't know," Lisa said, reluctantly. "Are you…"

"You _don't know?_"

Lisa shook her head. "No…stop looking at me like that! It's scary!"

Ren released her and the girl stumbled backwards as if she'd been bitten by a snake. Scrambling to the door, she yelled downstairs. "Bud! She's awake…help me out here!"

There was a pounding on the stairs, and Bud tore through the door, carrying a miraculously still full pitcher of water. Setting it on the table with mostly success, he spun around and stared at Ren. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"No! I'm not! Where…"

"We found you passed out in the bed," Bud interrupted. "Elazul was gone…at first we thought, well you said the Jumi disappear when they die…"

"Bud!" Lisa gasped. "Don't say it like _that!_"

Ren felt a shriek boiling up inside her. "_What?_" For a terrified moment she scanned the room, every inch for a flash of blue. "No…they disappear, but they leave their cores behind…damn it all don't _scare_ me like that!" Covering her face with both hands, she tried to stop shaking, waiting for the room to still.

Lisa scrambled onto the bed and tugged at Ren's shirt. "We know he's alive, because he took his things." She gestured at the room helpfully. "Though how he found it all with the way you leave stuff lying about, I'll never know."

"I'm sorry…" Bud looked guilty. "It must have been some time after we fell asleep…"

Ren shook her head, but it remained fuzzy. "It's not your fault," she said carefully, forcing herself to breathe deeply, slow her heart. "Why…why would he _leave?_ How did he leave? He could hardly move yesterday! How did he get past _me?_"

"You were out pretty well…" Lisa said hesitantly. "I mean, Bud and I couldn't wake you up. It was like…well, like that time in Polpotoa."

"What happened in Polpotoa?" Ren asked absently, standing up. This seemed to get her blood flowing, and the haze cleared from her eyes. The twins stood silent, watching her with amazement. "What? Oh nevermind, I don't want to know. I have to go after him, he can't have gone far…"

"He's got a three-day head start," Bud said quietly. Ren stopped looking for her shoes and stared at him.

"What?"

"You've been unconscious for _three days_," he repeated. "What did you _do?_"

"I don't know." Ren looked around at the room, frightened suddenly, for herself, for the twins, for Elazul… "I did something…there were spirits…I think I tried to fix him. There was all this light, and...I can't remember. Goddess help me, _I don't know._"

Bud and Lisa stepped backwards, obviously shocked by her tone. She reached out to console them, then stopped, started for the stairs and stopped again. She stood in the middle of the room, watching the walls spin until they ground to a halt.

"Ren?" Lisa sounded really worried now. "Please rest…you really don't look…"

"No." Ren took a step, waited. The room stayed put, for the moment anyway. "Three days…he could be _anywhere._ Anywhere…with Sandra and who knows what else out there on the warpath…what was he _thinking?_" The twins looked mutely back at her and shrugged in unison.

"_I could hazard a guess,_" a voice said from the window. Looking over, Ren saw Viridian, or at least his eye, peering in at her.

"Viri!" She tripped over the floor and slammed into the windowsill in a rush. "What do you know?"

The dragon pulled back slightly. "_I saw him leave._"

"You didn't _stop_ him?" Ren would have thrown the water pitcher at him, if Lisa hadn't snatched it out of her reach. She glared at the girl, then grabbed her sword-belt from the table. "Stay there," she hissed in the direction of the window as she pulled on her shoes. "I'm coming outside."

Racing out the front door, she confronted Viridian, who was hovering well out of reach. "Come down here, I'm not going to hit you with anything!"

The dragon lowered himself to the lawn slowly. "_I don't think I _could_ have stopped him. Not without hurting him,_" he said smugly. "_And that might have been a bit counterproductive…_"

Ren stomped on her patience to keep it from flying off somewhere. "I meant, didn't you_ talk_ to him?"

"_Yes. Well, talked _at_ him, anyway. I don't think he was listening._"

Nothing new there. "Did he _say_ anything?"

"_He said, _'_Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt her anymore._'"

Ren was about to reply rather snappishly, when the words sunk in. "…oh."

"_Told you I could guess,_" Viridian pointed out, as Ren slumped against the side of the house. She had a feeling that any minute she was going to cry, or be very, very angry.

Angry was definitely the safer of the two. "That…" she flailed around for a suitable epithet and failed to find one. "Going to _kill_ him," she muttered instead.

Viridian cocked his head to one side. "_What did I just say about counterproductive…_"

"Shut up." Ren grabbed hold of the dragon's neck and leapt aboard. "Let's go."

"_He told me not to let you follow him._"

"Right, and suddenly you listen to _Elazul_ over me?"

"_Ha. He headed towards Gato._"

"How do you know that?"

"_Well, he didn't say anything about _me_ following him…_"

* * *

They flew over the main road to Gato, but predictably saw no sign. No matter how out of it Elazul might be, Ren doubted he was stupid enough to take a straight line anywhere. She directed Viridian to start overflying the woods on either side, seeking any sign of the Jumi.

As the search wore on, the mountains rising steadily higher before them, Ren's anger began to fade in favor of despair. A thousand worst-case scenarios were running through her head with nothing to take her mind off them. She was deep in the middle of the thousand and first when Viridian slid to the side and dropped suddenly.

"_There!_" the dragon called back, diving towards a completely unremarkable patch of trees. Ren barely had time to protect her face from speeding branches and leaves as Viridian took the straightest route possible down. They hit the ground in a spray of twigs and dead needles.

"Viridian!" she heard a familiar voice hiss. Elazul had stumbled backwards against a tree, probably due to a dragon crashing down nearly on his head. His sword was drawn, though not held particularly high now that he'd identified the cause of all the noise. Then his eyes fell on Ren as she leapt from the dragon's back.

He had the look of someone who'd been through seven kinds of hell already and was starting on the eighth. Whatever words she had been concocting fled like so much smoke in the wind. "El…"

"You're alive." He sounded somehow relieved and terrified all at once. Warning bells started ringing somewhere in the back of Ren's mind, but she couldn't quite figure out why.

"_I'm_ alive? Wait just a minute here!" She started forward. "_You're_ the one who…"

"Don't," He lifted his sword again as he scrambled away from the tree. "Come near me."

Ren stopped, confused. Then, the anger flared back. "Are you _brain-damaged_ as well?" she shouted. "What precisely do you think _I'm_ going to do to you?"

"Not you, me." Elazul took a few more steps backwards. There was a soft rush of air and suddenly Viridian dropped behind him.

"_Why don't you stay put? She didn't put you back together so you could run off and get yourself killed._"

Elazul looked over his shoulder. "You. What did you bring her out here for anyway! I told you…"

Ren cleared the space between them in two strides. Catching Elazul's wrist, she forced it down, stone or not, and shoved him into the tree again. "Forget him. _You_ are out of your _mind_." Reaching up with her other hand, she tugged on the top of his shirt until she could see the blue stone beneath. The crack remained, its jagged branching path standing out in bold relief against the reflective surface. "I didn't fix it after all. No wonder you're still spouting nonsense!"

"What do you mean you…" Elazul started, but she covered his mouth and leaned closer, listening. The tone from his core was high and anxious, but clear, unbroken.

"Or did I?" she asked, wonderingly.

Elazul pulled her hand away. "Excuse me, whenever you're done with your medical examination…?"

Ren blinked and looked up at him. He'd sounded almost normal there, though there was still an underlying note of hysteria. She let go and stepped back quickly. Elazul straightened his shirt and glared at her, while Viridian snickered somewhere to the side. "What do you mean, _you_ fixed it?" he repeated.

"I…well…I don't know. I can't really remember. There were spirits involved, and I…don't _know_. I was…I was really worried, El! How _could_ you! How could you _leave?_"

A slow sort of realization dawned in his eyes. "Spirits?" he asked. "You didn't…cry?"

"Cry? No…goddess knows I wanted to, but no. What purpose would that serve?"

Elazul seemed to sag suddenly, sliding down the tree to the ground. He dropped his sword next to him and leaned his head against his hands. Ren darted forward and knelt next to him. "El? Are you okay? What…"

"I couldn't wake you up," he said quietly. "I saw you, collapsed by the bed, and I tried, I really did. I thought…"

"Thought what?"

Elazul looked up finally, haunted. "When I came to, I felt so much stronger, but I didn't know where it had come from…" He raised his hand to his core. "I thought I'd _done_ something to you. That maybe you'd been crying, and it was drawing out your soul, like Diana said. I had to leave, I had to get away, I was so afraid…"

Ren stared at him, anger completely drowned out by an overwhelming sympathy. Granted, he'd brought it on himself but…he'd been traveling for days, barely recovered from an injury that nearly killed him…alone, with the threat of enemies all around. No one to talk to, to distract him from the thoughts of what he'd left behind, if she was alive or not…and somewhere out there, Pearl, who could be _anywhere…_in any situation…

The kind of thoughts that fed on silence and slowly grew until they strangled all logic and pulled you down into blind despair. She knew the sort, yes, she did, but she'd had the twins and Viridian to talk to…to keep her sane…

"You should have stayed," she said as gently as she could, putting a hand on his arm.

"Didn't I just finish saying why I couldn't?" Elazul shook her off and stood up.

"And I just said it wasn't true!"

"But it could have been! Don't you _see?_ I can't…I can't stay with you, Ren. I can't deal with this all the time. Can you…" Elazul turned away suddenly, as if he'd decided not to continue after all, then spun back and said it anyway. "Can you even imagine what it's like, to know that you can kill someone you care about, simply by _existing?_"

Ren got up slowly. "I…I don't think I can. But, I might know what it could feel like…to lose them."

He looked taken aback by that, staring down at the dead leaves, and Ren decided not to get into that sort of argument. This wasn't any time for a pity contest. He was alive, _alive_, she reminded herself. She'd done it, brought him back, and she'd be damned if she was going to let him wander around torturing himself like Sandra hadn't done a good enough _job_.

"Stop." She ran forward and caught his wrist again. He tried to pull away, but she tightened her grip. "I said _stop_. Look at me!" He raised his eyes slowly. Goddess, she could swear he was shaking! It was like dealing with a child having hysterics, but on a far more subtle level. "Why are you _doing_ this to yourself?"

"I don't know," Elazul shook his head, but his eyes didn't leave hers. "I can't…focus. I can't concentrate. There's too much, all at once. I don't know how to…"

Ren let go of his wrist and caught his hand instead, leaning her forehead against his shoulder. "I don't know 'how to' either," she whispered. "I doubt anyone does, really. You just…do things. Whatever needs to be done. As long as you're doing something, maybe helping someone important…everything else doesn't matter. It's only when you're alone that you end up like _this._"

He didn't say anything for a long time, but she could hear the frantic pace of his core calming, bit by bit, until its even hum matched his steady breathing. "Whatever needs do be done?" he repeated, finally.

"That's why you're out here, isn't it? You weren't running away. Well, not just running. You came to find _her_. Pearl. Am I right? Because… when your own problems seem the worst, it helps to…to think about someone else. Doesn't it?"

"Pearl…" Ren looked up to see him staring blankly into space. _Calling_, she thought. Calling for his guardian. After a moment, he closed his eyes and shook his head. "I can't hear her. Anywhere…" he trailed off.

Ren waited for a moment. Not that she had much choice; he was still clinging to her hand, though she was almost certain he wasn't aware of it. "Out loud, El," she reminded him, after it became apparent that he was deep in thought. "I'm still here."

He looked down, slightly startled. Then he seemed to consider her for a long time before speaking. "After my parents died," he said slowly. "I wandered the lands, searching for something, something to… belong to? No that's not right, just something that would give me a purpose. Then, in the desert I found Pearl. She was alone, with no memories. Here was someone I could protect, here was someone who needed me.

"But…did I ever take her to search for the cause of the strange feelings she had? No, I ran after her, dragged her back each time, telling her not to even think about it. Did she really need me, or was I just pulling her down? Now…she's someone else. Someone stronger, more confident, perhaps someone better off. Should I even be looking for her?"

"You don't think you should?" Ren remembered the cold, steel-eyed, black cored Jumi who had dismissed them with a glance. The thought of allowing that _person_ to remain in Pearl's place…

"I don't know."

Ren looked at the mountains visible above the trees. "Why did you come this way?"

"I thought Pearl might end up around here…she does tend to drift towards the same areas, and this is where we came after the caves, the first time."

"Ah ha. You didn't stop to consider it, you just started straight for the place you thought she would be. It wasn't until you got bogged down with all this angst-ridden _thinking_ that you had doubts about it, yes?"

"I was…just…" He frowned suddenly. "What are you trying to do here?"

"Wake you up!" Ren yelled, trying not to shake him. "Bring you back to before you jumped to all these _stupid_ conclusions! I wish you could _see_ yourself right now! Wandering circles around the woods, wondering about your purpose in life? That's not the Elazul I know…or that Pearl knows! You're not the person I…"

_Whoa Ren, not right now. _She was trying to help him here, not send him back down the path that had started it all.

Luckily, Elazul didn't seem to hear her hastily bitten off implications. His gaze was drifting over the trees around them, like he'd just noticed where they were. "You're right. I haven't made the best progress, have I?"

"No. You really haven't." Ren took a deep breath. "You've been too busy worrying about me."

He looked back at her. "Well, yes…shouldn't I be?" The note of panic was back, and Ren almost hissed in frustration.

"I'm alive, aren't I?" she said, her words deliberate. "Somehow…I made it through. Without crying. You're alive, I'm alive, maybe…that's enough to think about for now."

"Enough?"

"Yes." She extracted her hand from his and let it drop to her side. "I mean, it's time for you to stop thinking about me! I'm here now. We're both here…and somewhere out there, Pearl needs us, whether she knows it or not. So…we'll find her. We won't stop until we do. Don't think of me, or yourself. No guilt, no fear…" Slowly she backed away. "We'll bring her back, and when we do…you'll see. Everything with go back to normal."

Elazul stared at her with something bordering on wonder. "Ren…you…" he started, but she shook her head violently, and he broke off. For a while, he looked out through the trees, his eyes set on the slopes of the mountains beyond. "For Pearl…" His glance fell on his sword, lying abandoned by the tree, and he stooped to pick it up, obviously stalling.

When he looked up, that strange, hunted look had disappeared. "You're right," he repeated.

"As usual." Ren sketched a bow with one hand, and saw him smile slightly as he sheathed the sword. "Please don't ask me how I do it."

Elazul, who had possibly been about to do just that, looked around as if gathering his thoughts anew. "Er…where is Viridian?"

Ren blinked, the dragon was indeed gone. "I hope he's not…insulted or something again…"

"_Not what?_" Viridian appeared between two trees, licking his chops. "_I listened to you two for as long as I could, but there's only so much stupid one dragon can stand, so I went to find a snack._"

"Who, exactly, are you calling stupid?" Elazul turned to face him irritably.

"_You, imbecile._" He floated up into the air before the knight could even begin to reach for his weapon again. "_I don't know why she puts up with you._"

"Then why'd you bring her out here to find me, huh?"

"_You're welcome,_" Viridian snapped back. "_I suppose you were actually enjoying wallowing in misery. Suits you, really._"

"I was _not…_"

"_Ha! You keep telling yourself that._" He twisted an intricate pattern between branches that ended with him near the treetops. "_Maybe you'll have convinced yourself by next time, because I'm not coming out to save you again!_"

Elazul turned back, gesturing after the retreating dragon. "What is _wrong_ with that thing?"

Ren watched with dismay. "I hate to say this right now, but I think you bring out the worst in him…can't you just say 'thank you'?"

"Hell no." He glared as the last of Viridian's tail disappeared over the trees. Ren resisted an urge to slap her forehead. At least he was back in form.

"Elazul, if I didn't think of you as pretty damn fragile at this moment, I'd hit you. Is this what Pearl dealt with all the time?" Changeable like the _weather,_ or like riding a very small boat over very large waves. _How did she manage it?_ Ren wondered silently.

"For the most part." Elazul sighed. "I wouldn't wish myself on anyone, now that I think about it."

"That's enough." Ren snorted. "Start that again, and I'll lock you in the twins' practice shed and let them experiment on you." When he looked suitably chastised by that, she grinned. "We put up with you because, underneath all the crap, you're actually a really nice person. Deal with it."

"How do you deal with being an involuntarily nice person?" he muttered.

"I don't know. Why don't you think about it while _we_ deal with _walking_ to Gato, since you chased off the transportation."

* * *

The tower of Leires loomed over them, its flat black surface perforated by windows, some lit, some dark, some broken. The light from the temple cast an eerie reddish glow over the structure, almost as if it was on fire itself.

Which wasn't terribly unbelievable, since the whole thing looked like it might tumble down any minute. "Are you _sure_ she would come here?" Ren asked, eyeing it dubiously.

"No." Elazul stopped just inside the gargoyle-topped gates. "It's just a hunch."

"She was chasing Sandra, too," Ren mused out loud. "And it didn't look like she'd just give up. So, the real question is, would _Sandra_ come here?"

"I don't know." Elazul shrugged and started towards the building. "But we have to start looking somewhere, yes?"

"True." Ren looked at the entrance. One of the double doors was hanging by a broken hinge, and the arch had collapsed above it, pinning both doors in place. "Though, I think if we try to open _that,_ it's going to come down on our heads."

"Someone already did." Elazul pointed at the center of the broken door. A huge dent in the middle radiated cracks, as if it had been struck with something massive. "I think we might be able to…" He caught hold of a wooden beam that had fallen from the arch above and shoved it aside, revealing a narrow gap between the doors. "There."

They squeezed through the crack into the main hall. The dim light of a single chandelier illuminated most of it, the second being shattered all over the floor.

"Your handiwork," Elazul pointed out, as Ren nudged some of the glass fragments thoughtfully.

"Oh?"

"Who's there?" A strident voice interrupted from the other side of the hall. From behind one of the staircases, a figure emerged, grey-clad. "Come out at once!" She swiped her hand through the air, and the long-shafted hammer appeared, angled towards the door.

"Intuition for the win," Ren whispered to Elazul, and stepped out of the shadow of the doorway, bits of glass crunching under her shoes. She stopped a ways away from the black-cored Jumi.

_You left us,_ she wanted to scream at her, but forced it back. Somewhere behind that cold visage was Pearl, the Pearl she knew, the kind, shy, thoughtful girl with the eyes that looked so sad…and they were going to bring her back. That was the purpose, and yelling accusations at her would not help it.

Plus, a more practical part of her brain asserted, antagonizing the woman who made _Sandra_ run with a word and a glance, might not be the safest route possible.

"Hello, Pearl," she said lightly.

"No one calls me that," the woman informed her calmly, but her eyes flashed. "Who do you think you are?"

Ah, so much for not annoying her. Ren sighed and pondered her list of diplomatic moves that didn't involve getting her skull crushed by that hammer. It was pretty short. "What shall we call you then?" she asked carefully.

"I am the Lady Blackpearl, knight to the Clarius."

Ren tried to wrap her mind around that and failed. "Pearl was much simpler."

"Stop calling me that," said Blackpearl, and disappeared. Ren didn't even have time to blink before the shaft of the hammer pressing across her throat indicated the Jumi was behind her. She fought down the gasp that tried to escape. There was no malice radiating from the woman, strangely enough...in fact, beyond the initial rush at having been outmaneuvered so _fast,_ she did not feel threatened at all.

"Who are you?" Blackpearl's voice said in her ear. "No, I remember. You were in the cave, with Alexandra." Her grip tightened momentarily, then stopped. "I doubt you were with _her,_ though," she continued, more thoughtfully. "If this is some misplaced revenge for that fallen knight…"

"Actually, I can tell when I'm outmatched," Ren found her voice again. "But he's not…"

"The Clarius' knight indeed." Elazul stepped away from the doorway and circled them. "You must be slipping if you can't even sense another Jumi in the room."

"You survived. How?"

"Sheer bloody-minded stubbornness, I think. And not on my part. Let her go."

For a moment no one moved, then the hammer pulled away and Blackpearl stepped backwards. Elazul glanced at Ren, and she raised a hand to indicate she was fine before moving carefully to the side so she could see both of them.

Blackpearl was watching Elazul closely. "Have we met before?" she said, finally.

"I should think so. He's been your knight for…er…" Ren realized she hadn't a clue. "A long time."

"Did I not just explain who I am?"

"It's true though," Elazul said with a shrug. "Your core should tell you that much."

Blackpearl's eyes widened slightly. Ren thought about repeating her statement, just for effect, but self-preservation kicked in and stopped her. "I am the Lady Blackpearl," the woman repeated firmly. "I have long been knight to those who carried the title of Clarius. I am not your guardian!"

"The fact that you have to keep telling yourself that should say something right there," Elazul pointed out, earning himself perhaps the most expression she'd shown so far, in the form of an irritated look.

Then it faded. "We _have_ met, lapis knight, and not the way you're suggesting. I remember you now."

"Ah. What reminded you? No, don't answer that." Elazul raised a hand, stalling her.

"Wait…you've met _this_ Pearl before?" Ren looked between them, confused.

"Yes." Elazul didn't take his eyes off Blackpearl. "I couldn't be sure, I only got a glimpse of her…before, but when I heard her introduce herself to you, it all clicked. Now I'm only embarrassed that I never made the connection."

"There is no connection," Blackpearl insisted.

"It was in the jeweled city, or what was left of it at that point. I came there…looking for something, and found it deserted. Except for you." Elazul took a step forward. "Do you remember? You told me a knight without a guardian is nothing. That without something to protect, all the strength in the world is useless. You are…"

"Enough." Blackpearl raised her hammer again. "Do not throw my words back at me as if they should mean something in reverse. I remember well enough. A lone knight who had failed to protect his guardian, wandering the streets of the ruined city. Looking for something, you say? You were looking for a place to _die_."

"Perhaps." Elazul shrugged again. "I seem to recall you giving me very encouraging advice at the time too. Such as to go somewhere else where you wouldn't have to deal with it."

"I said nothing of the sort."

"Not in those words, exactly, but that was the idea."

"If you chose to take it as such, it is not my problem."

Elazul's eyes narrowed. "That part of my life is closed. It closed the day I found you. You're changing the _subject_, Pearl, trying to turn it away from _you._"

"The subject you're referring to does not _exist_."

"Doesn't it? So, where have _you_ been between then and now?" Elazul asked simply. Blackpearl remained impassive, but her grip tightened perceptibly on her hammer. "You don't know, do you?"

"Leave now," she said quietly. "I have things to do."

"Here?" Elazul looked around at the ruined hall. "Like what?"

"I am hunting. _Alexandra_," she spat out the name.

Ren jumped at that. "She's _here?_"

"Yes." Blackpearl glanced at her, as if she'd forgotten she was there. "At the top of the tower. I followed her here."

"Then why are you still down here?" Elazul asked, still matching the other's calm tone. Blackpearl fell silent. "Is it because, at the top of this tower, you know there is a mirror that shows the truth?" Still, nothing. "You're afraid of that truth…so afraid of it that even your desire to get to Sandra cannot overcome…"

"_Silence!_" The hammer swung faster than the eye could track, stopping inches from Elazul's head. He didn't even blink.

"You're not going to kill me, Pearl."

The black-cored knight shifted her grip. "I'm warning you…"

"And I'm warning _you_." Ren laid her sword on the woman's shoulder, angling it towards her throat. "Possibly the fact that I made it behind you without you noticing should tell you how disturbed you are."

The hammer wavered in the air for a second, then stilled again. "You are in over your head. I could kill you easily, even now."

"Maybe." Ren shrugged, even though Blackpearl couldn't see her. "But you won't. When you charged me that first time, I got the distinct impression that you were not the type to stand and make threats. You know your own strength so perfectly, that you don't have to _threaten_. You either do it or you don't. You had no intention of killing me _then_, or I'd be dead already. Am I right?" Blackpearl said nothing, so Ren continued. "So why are you hesitating now?"

"Stop," Blackpearl hissed. "This is your last chance."

Ren sighed. This was not how she'd wanted to do this. "You _know_ why. We're your friends, Pearl," she said sadly. "You don't have to be frightened of us. We want to help."

"Frightened?" The hammer spun around and swatted Ren's sword away. "I am frightened of _nothing_." Blackpearl turned and ran up the stairs, vaulting over a collapsed section of wall at the top.

Ren looked after her for a moment, then let her breath out explosively. "Holy goddess El, are you _suicidal?_ What in hell did you think you were doing, provoking her like that?"

Elazul looked slightly dazed. "I'm not really sure. I was just…running with it. It seemed to work. Sort of." He watched her retrieve her sword. "And you're one to talk!" he snapped suddenly. "What did you think _you_ were doing?"

Ren rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Being suicidal. Come on, let's go after her."

* * *

Chasing Blackpearl was easier said than done. The state of the ruined building didn't make the ascent easy on anyone, but their target was determined to make it harder. She doubled back, switched staircases, and climbed over the most unstable sections of the halls.

The only thing that kept Ren and Elazul from losing her completely was that their target apparently kept stopping to fight off skeletons, zombies and vampire bats that swooped down from the ceilings or crawled out of the walls. They passed the rather squashed and battered remains of countless monsters in their pursuit.

"You'd think she'd leave some for us," Elazul commented, as a not-quite-flattened suit of armor tried to grab his leg in passing.

"Don't say that, this is enough of a pain as it is…" They rounded a corner at top speed and nearly ran into the tall knight.

"Stop _following_ me!" Blackpearl whirled around and struck the wall next to her a massive blow with her hammer. The already weakened stone didn't need that much force to break, but it got it, and the wall collapsed across the corridor in a cloud of dust. Seconds later, cracks appeared along the floor, and before Ren could do more than shriek, it crumbled under their feet, dropping them to the story below.

"Ow." Ren lay where she'd fallen for a minute, shielding her eyes from bits of stone still dropping from overhead. Nearby, she head Elazul groan and stand up. Luckily the floors were not terribly far apart. "El…" she whined. "Pearl just tried to kill us. Do you know what this does to my world outlook?"

Elazul peered down at her and held out a hand. "Get up already. She wasn't trying to kill us, just stop us. It's not her fault this place is held together by _air_, and possibly not even that."

Ren let him pull her to her feet, then brushed stone dust off her clothes. "What floor are we on now anyway?"

"Six." He thought about it. "Or not. I don't know."

"We're not getting anywhere this way. Especially not if she tries to take out any more walls. I can just see the whole building falling down with us inside it."

"That doesn't take a huge stretch of the imagination." Elazul looked up at the hole in the ceiling above them, then around at the walls. "Over there," he said, pointing down the hall. "There's a door."

"Well, that's a change at least." Ren walked over to the door and pushed. For a moment it didn't move, then abruptly it slid sideways into the wall, causing her to jump back. Inside was a smallish, square room with no furnishings except for a short pedestal in the middle, topped by a diamond-shaped crystal.

"What is it?" Elazul came up behind her. "Storage closet?"

"Um…" Ren walked into the room, circling the crystal thoughtfully. "For this thing? Hey, don't touch that!" she exclaimed as Elazul reached for it. "What if it's a trap?"

He stared at her for a moment, then put his hand on top of it anyway. There was a muted flash and the door slammed shut, just as the whole room shuddered briefly, knocking Ren off her feet again.

"El! Geez, what is _with_ you today?"

"Suicidal, remember? I'm kidding," he said as she glared at him. "I've seen things like this before, it's kind of a…moving room."

Ren stood up carefully. There _was_ a faint continuing sensation of movement. "That doesn't make it any less insane. A moving room inside a tower like this? Does that really strike you as safe?"

"Safer than continuing to chase Pearl up the stairs, yes."

"That's not terribly safe." Ren sighed and leaned on the wall while Elazul prodded the crystal some more. "Do you actually know what you're doing with that?"

"No. Hopefully I'll figure out how to make it stop by the time we get to the top."

"You keep saying things like that." Ren snickered. "I wonder if you're taking this seriously."

"I'm having trouble taking _her_ seriously, actually." He stopped fiddling with the crystal and looked thoughtful. "It's strange really, all things considered, but I just keep seeing Pearl looking out of those eyes."

"Yeah," Ren shrugged. "It's like she's trying too hard." She frowned. "But…what you said…she's really the knight of the Clarius?"

"Yes." Elazul gave up on the crystal and leaned against it instead. "I can't believe I never thought of it before."

Ren was quiet for a while, thinking about what Blackpearl had said, downstairs. "Did you…have a guardian before Pearl?" she asked suddenly.

Elazul looked away. "Well, not really."

"But Pearl said…"

"Yes, I know. She was a little too perceptive for her own good, that one." He sighed. "She was talking about my mother. After my father was killed, I took up the role of knight for her. Or tried to. She didn't want that though. I think, in retrospect, that she was afraid she'd lose her son the same way she'd lost…well anyway. Pearl didn't know the details, she was just striking at a sore point. I think."

Ren watched the crystal fade from blue to pink to green for a moment. "How old were you?"

"Hah." Elazul shook his head. "Relatively speaking…young enough to think I was ready, old enough to hate myself when it all fell apart. Or vice versa, perhaps. Does it matter?"

"Just…filling in the blanks." Ren stepped away from the wall and pretended to inspect the door. "There's a lot I don't know. I feel kind of left out of the loop."

"You're not used to it by now?" Elazul said absently, twisting the crystal in its socket.

"You're so _nice_ to me, El." Ren snickered, but before she could think of something to shoot back at him, the room shuddered to a halt, and the door slid open under her hands

* * *


	19. Turning the Hourglass

* * *

19 – Turning the Hourglass

* * *

Stepping out of the strange room, Ren peered up and down the hallway, wondering how high up they were now. Spying what looked like a balcony jutting out from an alcove in the wall, she started towards it, then hesitated. Scooping up a broken piece of stone from the floor, she threw it as hard as she could.

The stone struck the balcony floor and abruptly the whole thing crumbled, clattering down the side of the building in fragments. Ren stepped hurriedly away from the edge.

"Well, at least you were smart enough not to test it by _walking_ on it," Elazul said speculatively.

"I think we're at the top," Ren said as the last bits of stone struck the valley below. She turned away from the gap in the floor and headed down the hall. "Let's find Sandra."

"I would assume she's in that room with the mirror."

"What mirror?" Ren stopped and looked back. Elazul sighed.

"Nevermind. You'll see it soon enough."

They continued down the hall and around the corner without any more damage to the structure, and found themselves outside a huge door that stretched from floor to ceiling. "This room?" Ren asked.

"Yes…" Elazul pushed on the door, but it didn't budge. "Hmm. Maybe she's locked herself in?"

"She's got to come out eventually."

"Do you really want to sit out here and have an endurance contest?"

"No…I want to break the door down!" Ren kicked the offending portal sullenly. "Give it a shot?"

Elazul looked at the door. "Are you kidding? I think I'm feeling, how did you put it…_fragile_ enough as it is without trying to kill myself hitting a solid stone door."

"I was, actually, kidding…" Ren frowned. "Wait a minute…" she looked at him critically.

"I'm fine, knock it off…" Elazul backed away.

"He's lying," said a distinctive voice from down the hall. Blackpearl strode towards them, stopping a few feet away.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't dropped us through the _floor_, I wouldn't have to." Elazul snapped, ignoring Ren's glare.

Blackpearl didn't bother to reply to that. "How did you two get up here before me?" she asked instead.

"Took the lift." He jerked a thumb down the hallway. "Very convenient."

Ren continued to glare for a moment, then decided he was probably a lost cause, and turned to Blackpearl instead. "Glad you made it, anyway," she said. "You're exactly the hammer…I mean, person, I wanted to see."

Blackpearl turned a completely unamused gaze on her. "Oh?"

"Yes," Ren continued with a smile. "Open this door for me."

The Jumi stared at her for a second, then turned her blank look slowly on the door. "Why, precisely, should I do that for you?"

"Sandra's in there."

Blackpearl looked back at her quickly. "I am not going to be manipulated by you. You two are trying to trick me into something, I can sense it."

"Yes, of course," Elazul broke in. "We _tricked_ you into coming up here, completely against your wishes, since you were making a lot of progress on your own. Supposedly you have business with Sandra, do tell me how it was getting done wandering around down there?"

"I was perfectly…"

"Shut up!" Ren yelled suddenly. She hadn't thought her temper was on such a sort leash, but apparently it was. "I'm not trying to _trick_ you into anything. Why do you assume this has anything to do with you? _I_ have business with Sandra, so just open the damn door, Pearl!"

Blackpearl continued to stare at her, expressionless, but in the depths of her eyes, something flickered. Anger perhaps, or maybe…recognition? Ren didn't have a chance to analyze it. Blackpearl took a step forward and brought her hammer around in a lightning-fast arc.

Ren flinched automatically, but the hammer struck the door with a sound like the deepest bell. Blackpearl pulled back and hit it again, and there was a loud crack as whatever was blocking it from the other side gave out. The door swung inward silently.

"Ahh, Lady Blackpearl…" Sandra's voice came from within. "Got over your demons at last? It was getting very monotonous up here." The jewel hunter was leaning against the low basin-topped pedestal in the center of the room, looking boredly at the ceiling. She glanced down, noticing the three figures standing in the doorway. For a moment, she simply looked at them, uncomprehending, then her eyes narrowed and her fingers tightened on the edge of the basin.

"Why," she said in a very forced tone. "Doesn't anyone _stay dead?_"

"Just because it bothers you so." Reaching for her weapons, Ren started forward, but found her path blocked by several feet of hammer. She glared at Blackpearl and very nearly knocked the thing away, but the knight fixed her with an extremely penetrating look.

"I want to _talk_ to her. She's not going anywhere."

Ren looked around the room, which didn't appear to have any other exits. "Talk, then." She leaned against the doorframe, mimicking Sandra's nonchalance.

Blackpearl took a few steps into the room and stopped. "Where is Florina?" she asked in a perfectly conversational tone. _You'd never know most of the people in the room want to kill the others,_ Ren thought. _Everyone's so damned _calm_ about it. Even I'm calm about it. Does that make me as insane as _those_ two?_ She shook her head slightly and forced herself to focus.

"Florina?" Sandra looked up at the ceiling again. "Do you really think, after all the trouble I went through to get her out from under your thumb to start with, that I'd simply give her back?"

"Give? I'm _taking_ her back. Tell me where she is."

"_Alive._" Sandra put an unnecessary amount of force behind the word. "Where hardly matters. If you truly cared about her you'd see that, but you're really only concerned with your _pride,_ aren't you? The indomitable Lady Blackpearl lost her guardian. Tsk."

"I didn't lose her," Blackpearl said. "You took her away."

"Excuses. You should have been able to stop me, shouldn't you? Wasn't that your _job?_" Sandra still didn't look down. "Face it, you're useless as a knight. All that strength, training, innate power…what good is it when all you can do is sit back and watch your guardians _die? _Really, you made a much better guardian. At least then you had an _excuse_ for being useless."

Blackpearl hissed through clenched teeth, and the hammer came up to point at Sandra again.

"Oh come now, you can't really deny it can you? Still?" Sandra looked at Blackpearl finally, then pointedly at Ren and Elazul in turn. "Not with those two so tenaciously on your tail."

"Don't change the subject!" Blackpearl snapped. Ren straightened and backed quickly away from her, into the room and to the side. This was a display of temper beyond what had gone on downstairs, and she didn't want to be in range of that weapon. She saw Elazul slide around the other side of the room, probably thinking the same thing.

"What subject?" Sandra shrugged. "We'd reached a dead end with the other one. You want to know where Florina is, and I have no intention of telling you."

"Whatever warped purpose you're holding her for," Blackpearl advanced further. "You can't complete it if you're _dead._"

Sandra sighed. "Come now, don't you remember what happened last time we had this discussion?"

"I don't particularly _care!_" Blackpearl shouted, the sound bouncing off the walls and multiplying itself. Between the echoes, her hammer sped downwards towards Sandra.

The hunter smiled in a very satisfied way, and leapt upward. The hammer struck the basin, and the crystal mirror shattered, thousands of gleaming shards flying in all directions.

They struck…

* * *

_"So three others have left," Diana said quietly, picking at the inlaid gems on the table in front of her. "Right after Ambrose went insane, yelling about invisible demons attacking."_

_"The rumors are getting worse. First it was unknown enemies, now they're invisible. We must stop this. We must find the source." Blackpearl watched Diana intently, but she did not respond._

_"The source is obvious. It has to come from one of us. There are no others here…and the enemy must be within the city!" Rubens exclaimed from where he stood by Diana's chair, despite the fact that there were plenty of empty seats. _

_The diamond guardian ignored him. "You are assuming there is an enemy at all," she said. "It could be nothing more than someone's idle conversation being blown out of proportion on repetition."_

_"It has spread too fast and too violently for that to be the case," Rubens insisted. "Someone must be doing this deliberately."_

_"That does not makes sense," Blackpearl stood and began pacing back and forth. "If there is, as people say, some among us plotting to destroy the city, why would they advertise their presence?"_

_"A mass panic will destroy this city as quickly as an earthquake." Diana looked up at last. "The people must be calmed. If they are assured that there is no truth to the rumors, I am sure the rumors themselves will disappear." She turned to Blackpearl. "Have Florina…"_

_"Florina?" Rubens leaned over, resting his hands on the table so he could look Diana in the eye. "They wish to hear from _you!_ Florina has been trying to calm everyone for weeks, and it's not working. They see your closeting yourself up like this as _confirmation_ of the worst! You must go out and speak to them…"_

_"They do not wish any such thing," Diana interrupted. "Don't let your personal preferences speak for the populace, Rubens."_

_The ruby knight stepped back, looking distinctly unhappy. Then he turned and abruptly left the room. Blackpearl glanced after him. "Diana, he speaks the truth. Florina is not well, she means to comfort, but the people only see her rapid deterioration as…"_

_"Florina is our hope!" Diana stood up. She looked briefly at the exit Rubens had taken, and shook her head, turning away from it. "If the people no longer have faith in the Clarius, then how can _I_ convince them?"_

_"They still have faith, they just need someone stronger right now." Blackpearl pointed at the door. "Florina is no leader. You are still the…"_

_A muted roar came from outside, followed by a rumble like an earthquake that shook the room. The two Jumi looked at each other, startled, then ran for the door. Passing through a paneled hallway and out onto the street, they nearly slammed into Rubens, waiting just outside. He turned to them and pointed wordlessly up the street._

_"From the chambers of the Clarius?" Diana asked, a nearly panicked tone to her voice. Blackpearl did not wait for an answer, merely started up the street at high speed. The others followed suit, and they ran through rapidly filling streets. By the time they reached their destination, a crowd had already gathered, blocking all entrances._

"Move!"_ Blackpearl shouted, making a sweep with her hammer that sent Jumi scurrying out of her way. The trio made their way quickly to the domed room at the center of the building. There, everyone had wisely kept back, ringing the edges of the room, but leaving the middle clear. Most stood in shocked silence that only deepened as Blackpearl entered._

_At the entrance of the room, shards of what first appeared to be glass lay scattered. Blackpearl reached down and picked one up, then dropped it hurriedly and raced to the low throne at the back of the room._

_"The guards…dead?" Diana caught up at last, panting. Rubens halted among the fragments, much as Blackpearl had, then nodded sadly. "But…surely not…"_

_Blackpearl stood up from beside the broken throne, a green stone in her hands. "Alexandra…" she said quietly. Her hands clenched around the core and she turned to Diana, eyes flashing. "They have killed my apprentice, and taken my guardian! Can you still say there are no enemies among us?" she shouted, the words echoing from the walls._

_"Lady Blackpearl!" Rubens stepped forward as a frantic murmuring went up from the gathered Jumi. "Please…" He looked around as if trying to think of a way to stem the tide of panic that was obviously swelling, but Blackpearl ignored him, focused on the diamond Jumi in front of her._

_Diana stared back at her, then around at the crowd. For a moment, she hesitated, then lifted a hand. "Find whoever did this! Search the city, quickly…they cannot have gone far. We must find the Clarius!"_

_The gathered Jumi scattered, Rubens among them. Diana started to leave as well then looked back. Blackpearl was still standing by the throne, the alexandrite core raised to the light and the strangest expression on her face. The core flashed…_

* * *

_The same room, but dusty and disused. The throne remained broken; none had bothered to fix it, or even to sweep up the stones and dust that had fallen from the ceiling. The holes had widened over time, and the sun shone down brightly in patches all over the floor._

_Blackpearl stood in the center of the room, alone now. She held in her hand the core she had retrieved, and looked back and forth between it and the throne, then around the room several times. "Alexandra," she said to the air. "All this time…"_

_Storing the gemstone away, she turned on her heel and strode out of the room, determination writ plainly on her face. Hurrying down deserted and ruined streets, she did not look at the crumbling buildings around her, or even take notice of the gaps beneath her feet. Her eyes were fixed ahead, on an unknown goal. So when she saw a young man headed up the street towards her, it actually took her a few seconds to come to a halt, registering the fact._

_"Halt!" she commanded, summoning her weapon. "State your business here!"_

_He looked up and blinked as if to assure himself she was real. His hand drifted aimlessly to his sword, then dropped. "Who's asking?" he said finally._

_Blackpearl stared at him. "I am the Lady Blackpearl, knight of the Clarius. State your business," she repeated, more slowly._

_"I need business? This is the Jumi city, yes?"_

_Blackpearl lowered the hammer. "You have to ask?" She frowned thoughtfully. "Who are you?"_

_"Elazul," he said, and seemed about to continue, but shrugged and left it there._

_"I do not know you," Blackpearl said bluntly. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Is it forbidden?" Elazul asked, with a rather heavy undertone of sarcasm. "The gates weren't even closed, much less barred."_

_"It is not forbidden," Blackpearl said. "But there is nothing here. Why would you even come?"_

_"How was I supposed to know…" Elazul shook his head and looked away._

_"Hmm," Blackpearl looked at him critically. "You have the look of someone I once knew. Ah," her eyes widened, almost in shock for a moment. "You are Sappho's son, are you not? You must be. They survived then…"_

_Elazul's head snapped up. "No," he hissed, then subsided._

_"I see." Blackpearl waited for a while, then turned away. "I see now. Looking for a place to escape the harsh world, are you? You'll not find it here."_

_"Escape?" Elazul frowned. "I came here because I thought it might be a place to belong. I thought there might be others…"_

_"Don't lie to me," Blackpearl looked back. "I've seen that look in too many eyes. Disillusioned with the world, they came here to hide from it, but all they did was seal themselves in with their memories until the light drained from their cores and they crumbled to dust." She gestured over her shoulder at him. "Go somewhere else. There is no place for you here anymore."_

_"Where else?" Elazul followed her doggedly as she walked away. "Where else can I go?"_

_"Think of something." Blackpearl stopped and turned again. "I am busy here, I don't have time to bolster your ego. Deal with it yourself, or not at all. But do it elsewhere." She waited a moment, but he didn't move. "Are you listening to me? I'm not interested in your story, whatever it might be. In fact, I could probably guess it."_

_"Oh?"_

_"Why else would you be here alone? A knight without a guardian is nothing. Without someone, something to protect, you are useless, and you know it."_

_"What about _you?_" Elazul asked._

_"Do I look like a guardian to you?" Blackpearl shook her head and started walking away, quickly this time._

_"That wasn't what I was asking," Elazul yelled after her. "You're one to talk about not having a guardian, when you've so obviously _misplaced_ your own!" Blackpearl froze, turning slowly. "Knight of the Clarius, indeed. How, precisely, did you manage to lose _her?_"_

_Blackpearl took a few steps back towards him, her hammer materializing beside her. Elazul started to retreat, then stopped and stood his ground. For a moment they stayed facing each other over ten feet of space, then abruptly Blackpearl let go of the hammer and it disappeared. "Nice try," she said calmly. "But I'm not going to be drawn into your juvenile sort of idiocy. If you're looking for someone to kill you, go pick a fight with a sandworm."_

_Elazul glared at her, but she said nothing else. Finally, he spun away and headed off down the broken street. Blackpearl watched him go, and stayed even after he'd been lost to sight. Her gaze dropped and rested on the cobblestones in front of her. She looked sad and alone, there in the empty city where no one could see._

_"Lost…" she whispered. Suddenly her hands clenched. Drawing the alexandrite stone from her pocket she pulled back her arm and threw it as hard as she could against the wall of a building. It shattered, fragments flying everywhere…_

* * *

"You!"_ Blackpearl nearly screamed, her hammer carving a visible arc through the air in front of her. Some feet away, the source of her anger sat unconcerned on a rock, the scraggly bushes and shallow pool of a small oasis arranged around them both._

_"Found me at last, m'lady?" Alexandra smiled. "Or should I say, I've found you."_

_"It was you all along," Blackpearl growled. "How _dare_ you come back here! Did you come to gloat over the destruction you wrought?"_

_"Took you long enough to figure it out." Alexandra sighed. "I was getting bored waiting for you to come after me, so I decided to look for you instead."_

_"You…" Blackpearl repeated in a lower tone. "So confident, so easy going all the time. You had us all fooled, didn't you? You spread the rumors, you led people's hearts astray…and you were talking about yourself all along. Then Florina disappeared and you…you pretended to die, leaving that false core behind. Dead trying to protect the Clarius, we all thought."_

_"It was a good strategy, was it not?"_

_"How long…how long had you been deceiving us?" She seemed confused, almost pleading._

_"Since the day you forced Florina to become Clarius," Alexandra hissed, pointing at Blackpearl._

_"She was never forced! She took the role on herself!"_

_"How could she not, the person that she is! With everyone hanging on her, telling her how special she was, how much good she could do? How could she resist? You forced her as surely as if you'd bound her to that throne, but even more cruelly. Playing on her kindness, her selflessness, for your own selfish needs!" Alexandra leapt up, angry now. "You are not worthy to even _speak_ of her!"_

_"The city _died_ behind you! You took our hope! Everything that was left!" Blackpearl stepped forward. "How can _you_ talk of selfishness?"_

_"That city was dead long before I left! You were all just too blind to see it. Clinging to Florina like she could heal something so rotten, so putrid. All she could do was pour her life into it, like a cup of water in the desert." Alexandra gestured at the sands around her. "It wouldn't make a difference, but you, you demanded it of her anyway. You weren't worthy of her life, small as it was. Nothing but dirt. Broken, fractured gemstones with no shine of their own, you consumed her to make yourselves feel alive again!"_

_Blackpearl retreated under this onslaught, then stopped. "Where is she?"_

_"Safe. Safe and awaiting the rebirth that only I can give her." Alexandra smiled._

_"What?"_

_"I have found a way," Alexandra said, a strange light in her eyes. "A way to save her."_

_Blackpearl shook her head. "It is impossible…"_

_"No! You just could never comprehend it!" Alexandra exclaimed. "I have found a use for all of you after all! Your souls will feed Florina, you will give back to her everything you have taken."_

_"What are you talking about…" Blackpearl's eyes widened in sudden comprehension. "You're insane!"_

_"Come now, don't you want to hear the particulars?" Alexandra tilted her head to the side, then shot backwards as Blackpearl's hammer swept through the air where she'd been._

_"No!" The black-cored knight hissed. "I don't need to hear any more. You have gone insane, like so many others before you, that is all. I will not let you go through with this, whatever you are planning!"_

_"Not even to save her?" Alexandra frowned. "I had thought you, of all people, would be a little sympathetic. You are her knight, after all, haven't you said so often that a knight must be ready at all times to give her life for her guardian?"_

_The hammer shook slightly, and the head dropped to rest against the sand. "Surely it bothers you," Alexandra continued, pacing a slow circle around Blackpearl. Just on the edge of visibility, a strange dark aura seemed to envelop her, wavering in and out. "Does guilt keep you up at night, knowing what you have done? Not just to Florina, but to the one before her, and before her? You know, deep inside, that…"_

_Blackpearl raised the hammer again, but her target barely had to step aside to avoid the badly aimed swing. "You are not fooling anyone!" Alexandra said. "Do you think I haven't noticed, all these years under your wing? All the time you spent training me, every word you spoke hid a guilt beneath it. Buried under words, under pride, but so clear, so easy to see for those who know how to look. Every day you live, you _regret."

_Blackpearl shook her head, but the aura around Alexandra grew even stronger, easily visible now. She stopped and held out a hand. "Give me your core, Clarius knight. Let go. I am offering you a chance to redeem yourself, to right the wrong you have perpetrated all these years."_

_Alexandra stepped forward again as Blackpearl did not move. Slowly, she reached towards the black stone easily visible at the other's throat, but at the last second, Blackpearl reached up and knocked her hand aside. "No," she said, in a low, dead tone, backing away and raising her weapon between them. Alexandra sighed._

_"And here I thought you'd be reasonable." The darkness around her flickered, then disappeared completely. "I suppose I'll have to do this the old fashioned way." Two knives sparked into existence in her hands, and she threw herself at the other Jumi._

_The battle was an ill-matched one from the start. Alexandra darted in and out, but she was forced to move constantly; one blow from that hammer would have ended it for her. She could not take the time to close with her opponent. Blackpearl, on the other hand, might have won several times over, but she seemed distracted, unfocused on the fight._

_Alexandra picked up on this easily. "You really don't want to win, do you?" she taunted. "Why not just give it up? You're only prolonging the inevitable."_

_Blackpearl raised the hammer to point at her again. "Do you think sacrificing others will make her _happy?"

_"Do you think I care?" Alexandra shot back. "I already made the choice between saving her life and having her like me. It was an easy one to make."_

_"Was it?" Blackpearl sighed. "I should have known."_

_"You're one to talk. You, who have never sought another's affection for a day in your life. Always duty, duty, duty. The good of the people. I cannot believe you would try to lecture me on making someone _happy._" Alexandra snorted. "It's not as if you could make her happy. Did you think she was, high on her throne there? Crying her life away bit by bit for the troubles of others?"_

_"She was…content," Blackpearl insisted._

_"She was _dying, _and you never even cared_. _The cold, hard knight of the Clarius. You'd have to be, not to cry yourself."_

_"If I could cry myself, I would have taken her place in an instant!" Blackpearl yelled. "In an _instant._ How dare you insinuate…" Words failed her, and she charged forward. Her hammer swung and Alexandra dodged, but the wrong direction. The back end of the shaft caught her in the stomach and sent her sprawling across the sands. Blackpearl closed the gap easily and pinned her down with the hammer's head._

_"Will you kill me now?" Alexandra looked up at her calmly. "After saying that…will you destroy the only person who _can_ save Florina?"_

_Blackpearl stood firm for a minute, then a tremor seemed to shake her whole body. Alexandra took the chance and shoved the hammer aside, scrambling to her feet. For a moment, it seemed she might renew her attack, then she appeared to think better of it and fled, across the sands and out of sight._

_The hammer remained poised for a second, then slipped from Blackpearl's fingers and crashed to the ground, disappearing on impact. "You're wrong, Alexandra…" She didn't seem to realize the other woman was gone. "There was a time when I thought that I…but fate denied me that. I took this path, the only one available to me…but, if I could go back…if I could return I would try, try to take her place…I would save her if I could!" Dropping to her knees, she covered her face with her hands, as if she could block tears that she knew would never fall._

_There was a blinding flash from her core, the light beaming outwards, filling the desert with strands of white…_

* * *

_A small body lay curled beside the broken plants in the oasis. How much later it was hard to tell, the sun shone just as bright in the sky. Over the edge of a dune, a figure appeared; Elazul. He stood on top for a while, looking around at the identical sands, then shrugged and half-slid to the bottom._

_He went to the pool of water to drink, then seemed to pick a random direction and started walking again. He stopped, suddenly, his eyes caught by the body among the bushes. He stood looking down at it with a complete lack of interest, then turned and started to leave. After a few steps he looked back over his shoulder, considering, then suddenly ran back, lifting the girl carefully from the sand._

_"Are you…alive?" he asked, shaking her slightly. The girl groaned and her eyes flickered open._

_"Who…" she started, but Elazul cut her off, his eyes widening. _

_"You're Jumi!" he exclaimed. "But, out here? Of all the places…"_

_The girl shook her head and tried to sit up. "I…I don't know…where is this?"_

_Elazul looked confused and gazed out at the unfriendly desert. "Not quite sure myself. The desert, somewhere. How did you get out here? Did you…" He paused, thinking. "Do you have a knight somewhere?"_

_"Knight?" She seemed to think about this for a long time. "No…I don't know anyone, I don't think." She tried to stand up, but collapsed back to the sand, coughing in the dust._

_Elazul helped her up again and led her to the water to drink, watching her with a puzzled expression the whole time. "A pearl…" he said thoughtfully. "What's your name?"_

_"Pearl?" she asked, looking up. Her hand went to her core automatically._

_"Well, that works, I guess." Elazul sighed, looking around at the sand again. "I suppose this means I'm going to have to find a way out of here after all."_

_"You don't know the way?" Pearl asked, confused._

_"Er…" Elazul looked startled, then shook his head. "Well, let's just say I didn't think this far ahead. Obviously I can't just leave you out here though." He stood up, holding out a hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet, steadying her until she found her balance. _

_Pearl looked up at him, then back at the bushes. "I feel so strange," she whispered. "I feel like…there's something I'm missing. I wish I could remember…"_

_Elazul frowned, looking between her and the plants. "Don't worry about it," he said carefully. "Anything that leaves you stranded in the desert is probably something you'd rather forget anyway, right?" Pearl stared at him in amazement. He gave a sort of half-smile, then turned and started across the sands, roughly to the south. "Don't worry!" he called back again. "Whatever it is, I'll protect you."_

* * *

The light faded, coalescing into a point in front of Ren's eyes. Straining to focus on it, she saw a shard of glass lying on the floor inches away. Even as she watched, it seemed to expand, liquefying and sliding away into a crack between stones. Groaning, she tried to sit up, but the room spun crazily, images dancing in front of her eyes.

Trying to blink them away, she peered through the haze of memories that weren't even hers; Sandra was still standing, over by the basin. The jewel hunter reached down into the mirror and brought her hand back clutching something, water sluicing off it in streams. She shook it dry and held it up to the light, a pale stone of translucent bluish grey.

"Who would have thought simple memories could make such debilitating weapons," Sandra said, tossing the core up and down a few times and looking around. "But, one plays to one's audience, I suppose." She stepped over to where Blackpearl lay on the other side of the room. "Especially you. I'd never forget how to manipulate _you._ Though I must admit, you make it so _easy…_"

The black-cored knight struggled to her feet, obviously shaking away her own illusions. She snatched her hammer from the floor beside her and barred the doorway, but didn't speak. Her stance was unsteady and her eyes wild, flickering from Sandra, around the room and back again.

"Tch," Sandra stepped back, but not very far. "This again?" She spread her arms wide, and a dark mist formed around her. "But I've improved since last we met, and you…you're only more unstable. I don't even need to _ask_ now!" Bringing both hands in front of her, the darkness concentrated between them before shooting forward in a widening beam.

Blackpearl couldn't seem to decide which way to dodge, but the choice was taken from her as Elazul crashed into her from the side, throwing both of them to the floor. The black ray passed narrowly behind and flew out into the corridor, where a distant explosion heralded yet another hole in the outside wall.

Sandra looked briefly surprised, then gathered herself for another shot. Ren surged to her feet, ignoring the dangerous tilt of the floor, and ran towards her. The hunter looked back and dodged just in time. The doorway open before her now, she turned and ran through it, into the hallway beyond. Ren followed, careening off the doorframe in the process, but Sandra was already standing at the edge of the broken balcony.

"By all means follow me," she said with a smile, and leapt out over the valley. Ren caught herself against the edge of the wall and looked down the side of the building, but there was no sign of the hunter anywhere. Backing carefully away from the edge, she stood looking at the hole in frustration for a while.

"What the _hell_ was that?" she heard Elazul saying as she moved into the room again. He was picking himself up off the floor and looking around dazedly, until he caught sight of Ren. "Sandra?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Gone. Off the side of the tower."

"Too much to ask that she fell to her death, I suppose." Ren didn't bother to reply to that, only looked towards Blackpearl, who was sitting up slowly.

"Why?" she asked, glaring at Elazul, who stared back at her in plain shock.

"You're welcome," he snapped, turning away. Ren sighed loudly, and he looked back, hesitant, towards Blackpearl. "Because…" he said. "It's my _job_."

"No…but…" Blackpearl turned, reluctantly towards the pedestal still standing in the middle of the room. "No," she said again, but uncertain now. "It's impossible. No, it's not. I've done it before, so long ago…why not in reverse? But…to what purpose?" She fell silent, staring at the floor for a long time.

Elazul stood by her side, just as quiet. He glanced at Ren, seemingly at a loss. She shook her head, not knowing what to do either, then gathered herself and stepped forward. "It's all right," she ventured. "We can help you…help you get through this." When that elicited no response, she reached out and laid a hand on Blackpearl's shoulder. "Please, talk to us…"

Blackpearl's hand shot up and knocked Ren's aside. "Don't touch me!" she hissed, leaping to her feet. Ren drew back quickly, but the Jumi didn't move any further. "Tell me," she said harshly, turning on Elazul instead. "When I was your guardian, could I cry?"

Elazul took a step backward, caught off guard. "Tell me!" Blackpearl shouted, her voice ringing around the room.

"No," he said, quietly.

Blackpearl looked disbelieving for a second, then her hand flew to her core. "Then what was the _point?_" she nearly screamed. "Either way, either way, I can't…do…anything!"

There was a flash from her core, brilliant as the light in the desert had been. Ren stumbled, half-blinded, but Elazul ran forward and caught the source before she could fall. Carefully he eased the girl to the floor, kneeling beside her.

"Pearl…" Ren whispered. "But why?"

Elazul looked down at his guardian with relief, then frowned. "To escape, perhaps."

"Will she be all right now, then?" Ren asked. "I mean, do you think she'll remember…all that?" she gestured at the room in general.

"I doubt it," Elazul reached out and gathered Pearl's unconscious form in, holding her tightly. "Pearl…" he said softly. "I wonder if she knows how much I owe her."

"Did you ever bother to _tell_ her?" Ren sighed as he looked blankly up at her. "Well, there's your answer then. Goddess," she raised her hands to her temples, to cover having to say anything else on the subject; she felt shaky enough. "Even her _memories_ hit like a sledgehammer."

She turned away quickly, moving to look at the mirror basin instead. _He really does care._ She smiled slightly to herself, and concentrated on that thought for a moment; it was better than crying in relief. _If only we could have shown _her_ that, instead of driving her away like _this._ I wish there was some way…_

The basin was only about half-full now. Ren reached out to touch the surface, but her fingers passed right through; it was only water. Sandra's removal of the Jumi core seemed to have released whatever spell had kept it crystallized.

Ren leaned on the brazier, staring down into the water, as Blackpearl's memories rolled around in her head. Memories of a dying city, and a younger, but somehow more travel-worn Elazul, and…Sandra.

No, Alexandra. A Jumi with a purpose, warped and strange though it may be, who would do anything to save someone she cared about. Ren clenched her hands about the edge of the basin. "_Why?_" she whispered fiercely. "Why does she have to be trying to _fix_ something? Am I supposed to feel _sorry_ for her? Why can't she just be…why does it have to be complicated? Why can't we fight something just plain evil!"

_Granted._

Ren thought she was getting used to random voices in her head, but this one was different, bright like fire and smooth as bone. "What?"

_Your wish. I grant it. The collection of emotions and actions you come to define as 'evil' solidified in a form you can recognize, pure and unadultured. I will bring it to you._

"Who are you?"

_You know me._

"I do not."

The voice laughed. _You will again. I can give that back to you. I can answer all your questions. I can return that which you have lost. All of it._

"But you admit to being evil."

_Oh yes._

"I don't want it. Get out of my head." The fire seemed to be infiltrating her body now, boiling the blood in her veins, closing around her throat. It was hard to breathe. "Get out!"

_You are close already. Each day you come closer. All you have to do is open the door._

_Open the door for me._

Ren tried to pull back from the pedestal, but her hands seemed sealed to it, her eyes fixed on the clear water within. An image began to coalesce there, red and black and formless, taking shape with terrifying slowness. _Stop,_ she tried to speak, but her voice stuck. _Help me, someone!_

Suddenly the pedestal rocked, tilted. The water rippled, splashed over the side and scattered across the floor. Ren stumbled backwards and fell, hitting the ground at the same time the brazier did. With a sound like a deep bell, it shattered on impact, sending shards flying to join the water rapidly seeping between the flagstones. And then all was quiet.

Looking up, Ren saw Pearl, hands extended from pushing the basin, a look of pure rage suffusing her features. "I hate it," she whispered, lowering her arms and curling her fingers into fists at her sides. "It does nothing but cause pain, I hate it!"

"Pearl!" Ren gasped, unable to get beyond that thought for a long minute. There was a voice still echoing in her head, it seemed to be laughing. She looked desperately around the room for the source, but was distracted as Pearl turned away quickly, pulling on her arm. Following the girl's path, she saw Elazul lying on the floor.

Choking back a cry of despair, she scrambled to Pearl's side as she knelt next to him, but he was already sitting up. "What in mana's name…" he started, but he trailed off as he saw Ren leaning over him, and only stared.

"What?" she asked, then turned to Pearl when he didn't answer. "What happened?"

Pearl looked anxious. "I…I just woke up. Elazul was asking me something, but then you…we heard you shouting, and there was this red light. He ran over and tried to pull you away from it, but something…hit him…and I just…"

Elazul blinked rapidly, then stood up, despite Pearl's weight on his arm. "Did you…break it?" he asked, looking at the remains of the basin.

"I think so…" Pearl said hesitantly. "I really wanted to." She looked at her hands. "What's happened to me? I feel…"

Ren didn't think she could even begin to explain, even if she could collect her thoughts enough to try. Luckily, she didn't have to. Elazul spun away from the fragments of metal and caught her under one arm, pulling her to her feet. "We're leaving," he said abruptly.

"What?" Ren looked back as she found herself propelled towards the door.

"I said, we're _leaving._" He dragged Pearl after them, down the hall towards the moving room. "Explanations can _wait_. Or do you really want to stay and see what else that thing can dredge up?"

"Not really…" Ren could already feel it slipping away from her. She tried to hold on to it, but a faint laughter seemed to be fading away down the hall, and it took the memory with it. "Damn. El, what was that, back there?"

He looked at her, almost guiltily, she thought. "What was what?" he asked, then turned his attention to the crystal, twisting it a couple of times until the door slid shut and the room jerked into motion again.

"Back…there!" Ren pointed at the door, which wasn't really the right direction. "Something…argh, I can't remember!" She leaned her forehead against the wall, staring at the flat stone. "Forget it."

* * *


	20. Almost Normal

_I almost feel the need to apologize yet again for taking so long to post this, but…well, holidays, which means it will probably happen again, and then I'd have to apologize again, so let's just assuming I've got a running apology and leave it at that. ;)_

_**Juni:**__Yay, new reviewer…always makes me happy. Thanks for reading!_

_And of course, continued thanks to all the regulars. You guys kick-start my imagination. :D_

* * *

20 – Almost Normal

* * *

"Oi," Elazul's voice broke into Ren's slumber. "You awake yet?"

She had the vague feeling that this had to be the third or fourth time he'd woken her up to ask if she was awake. Reaching behind her head, she threw the pillow blindly at the door, and heard it swing shut again in defense. Then she groped for the bedside table, hoping for a glass of water.

There wasn't one, nor was there a table. Opening her eyes finally, she looked around the room in confusion.

"Gato. Temple. Some priestess' room," Elazul answered her unasked questions, peering around the door again. "And it's after noon. Get _up_ already."

"Get _out_ already," Ren snapped back and looked around for something else to throw, but the area was sadly empty. Elazul waited for another minute, probably to prove a point, before leaving. Ren seriously considered going back to sleep, just to annoy him, but she wasn't tired anymore. Instead she got up and opened the window, staring out over the mountains while she fixed her hair.

The valley below was still empty of mist, the tower looking all the more decrepit without the concealing fog. It had been gone when the three of them had left the night before, and no sooner had they reached the city gates when an entire coven of priestesses had swarmed up to ask what had happened.

Elazul had told them there was a perfectly reasonable explanation, and he'd be glad to tell them all about it, right after everyone got some _sleep._ The priestesses seemed inclined to argue, but it was pretty obvious that Elazul was dead on his feet, Pearl was walking in sort of an exhausted stupor, and only Ren felt completely awake and untired…right until she'd actually lain down.

She moved the rest of the various pieces of the past couple of days around in her head until they fit themselves back together, more or less. Like a puzzle with half the bits missing. Where was Viridian anyway? She leaned out the window and looked around as far as she could, but there was no sign of the green dragon anywhere. Hopefully, he'd gone home.

Finally, she decided it was probably better to worry about the pieces she _did_ have, than the ones that were missing, and went downstairs to confront the Jumi. She was dying to hear what 'perfectly reasonable' explanation Elazul had come up with. She suspected he didn't actually have one.

"Sir, do I have to remind you _again_ that this side of the building is reserved for women only?"

Ren stopped on the landing and peered around the corner. Elazul was standing on the next flight of steps, glaring at a veiled figure who was barring his way.

"I'm not part of your…monastery or whatever you call this place, I don't see why…"

"To respect the privacy of those who have taken oaths of…"

"Like I'm interested in your nuns. I just came to get my friend…"

"Three times in the past hour…"

"Yes well, she's kind of hard to wake up, apparently…"

"Just _go downstairs and stay there,_" the priestess said tightly, looking as if she would very much like to push him down the staircase. "_I'll_ get your friend."

"No need," Ren stepped around the corner, deciding she'd probably eavesdropped all the amusement value she could out of the conversation. "I'm up."

"_Finally_." Elazul swept off down the stairs. Ren watched him go, then glanced at the priestess, who gave her an eloquent look in return.

"Sorry," Ren apologized, though she wasn't sure why it was her job. "He's had a bad week."

"So it would seem," the priestess said noncommittally. "And how are you feeling?"

"Me?" Ren blinked. "I'm fine. I'm always fine."

"And the children?"

"Children?"

"The twins. You _are_ still caring for them, are you not?" The eyes over the veil narrowed.

"Of course…they're at home…"

The priestess scanned her face for a moment longer, then stepped back. "You don't remember me at all, do you?"

"Er…no. Should I?" Ren tried to smile, but it came out kind of strained.

"I suppose not. Well, I have things to do, and your friends are waiting. Take care."

Ren waved as she turned and hurried down the stairs. She wondered if that had been someone she really _knew_, or just a passing acquaintance. Was she laughing at her behind that veil? Did it matter?

"How _annoying!_" she grumped as she flung open the door to a small room off the main hall.

"What is?" Elazul asked, looking up from the table where he and Pearl had been sitting.

"You," Ren snapped, dropping into the nearest chair. "Waking me up like that. Do you have _any_ idea how little sleep I've been getting lately? And it's _all your fault._"

"Sleep? You were unconscious for three days. How could you _possibly_ need more sleep than that?"

Ren traced a few grains along the wood of the table top. She'd nearly forgotten. "Bah, that doesn't count," she covered for herself. "That's not real sleep. Anyway…is there anything to eat? I'm starving."

"Breakfast was ages ago," Elazul pointed out.

"Oh? Why didn't you wake me up?" Ren asked nastily, and walked over to examine a mural on the wall to avoid his reply. Behind her, Pearl giggled quietly, and Ren could just imagine Elazul's glare shifting towards her instead.

"How are you feeling?" the guardian asked, most likely not even noticing him.

"Same old same old." Ren returned to the table. "People keep asking…do I _look_ like something's wrong with me?"

The corner or Elazul's mouth turned up in a way that meant she'd set herself up for a really cutting reply, but the sound of the door opening saved her. In the doorway stood two figures, one old and bent, the other young, with ears and tail to match a very feline face.

"I am the Abbess Matilda," the old one said without much ceremony. "This is my assistant Daena. I am sorry to keep you waiting for so long."

Elazul nodded to her, and Pearl dropped a curtsey, but Ren just stood there. She couldn't figure out if she should bow or curtsey, since she was technically wearing a skirt. Still, it wasn't really the _type _of skirt for…and by the time she'd straightened it all out in her head, the moment had passed.

The Abbess sat down in the chair her attendant pulled out for her, and gestured to the other seats. Ren joined the others, wondering if she'd just come off as someone with no respect for authority. Next to _Elazul_, of all people.

"We haven't been waiting very long at all." She made an attempt to recover her manners.

"Yes, _someone_ only just woke up," Elazul muttered to the table.

"It's all right. I don't get up very early myself anymore," the Abbess said soothingly. Ren turned to Elazul with a smug grin; he just rolled his eyes and ignored her. Matilda didn't notice, or pretended not to, but Ren caught sight of Daena staring at them from behind the Abbess' chair, her catlike tail twitching in semi-hidden shock.

"We have come to discuss the Tower, as you might have guessed," Matilda continued smoothly. "The mist has not returned, and the monks in the temple tower inform me that though the Flame burns brightly, there is no answer from Leires."

"Answer?" Ren asked.

"Yes," Matilda looked in the direction of the valley, even though there were no windows in the room. "The moon's mirror used to emit a…radiance when the light of the Flame fell on it. The doors to the room of Fate would open and the light would shine back to the temple from the highest floor." The Abbess turned back to them. "Tell me what has happened."

"This…moon mirror is broken," Elazul explained, succinctly. "I suppose…the source of it's power has been removed. The rest of it simply fell apart after that."

"It was a Jumi core, wasn't it?" Ren asked, half to herself, half to Matilda. "We were chasing a…a core hunter, and followed her to the tower…"

"The same hunter who killed Rubens," Elazul broke in. "She must have sensed the power there when she was here the first time, and simply came back for it at an opportune moment. We were…unable to stop her. Again." Elazul stood up suddenly and began pacing along the back wall of the room. Ren watched him for a moment, trying to remember who Rubens was. Ah, from Blackpearl's memories. Had there been something else?

Giving up, she looked to Matilda again. "What does it mean, if the mirror is broken? Is it dangerous? I mean, that place seemed rather…disused, if you know what I mean. Surely it wasn't _that_ important."

"I do not know." Matilda shook her head sadly. "Rubens would actually have been the one to ask about it, he spent…a decent amount of time in the Tower, studying it, but he didn't share much with the rest of us. Whether because there wasn't anything to share or because he preferred not to, we cannot know."

"Well, there's nothing else _we_ can tell you," Elazul spoke up, still pacing. "If anything, I should think you'd be glad to have that mist gone. Last time, we were told it eats travelers."

"It did, so to speak. However, the mist was…well, perhaps a slightly longer explanation is in order, such as it is." Matilda leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Elazul sighed and sat down again.

"Leires," the Abbess began. "Was built by a powerful magician, centuries ago. He built it to bridge three worlds. Ours, the Underworld beneath, and the heavens above."

"Why?" Ren asked.

"Who knows why mages do what they do." Elazul grimaced. "Maybe it would bring him unimaginable power which he could use to take over the world. Or destroy it. Isn't that the usual reason?"

"You're so paranoid, El."

"We're talking about the sort of people who automatically assume a book on fireworks means mass destruction, remember?"

"Ahem," Daena cleared her throat, making the first sound she had since entering the room. Ren and Elazul looked guiltily back at the Abbess, but she still had her eyes closed, apparently perfectly content to wait. After a few extremely awkward minutes of silence, she continued.

"When the final touches were put on the tower and the spell was cast, two pillars of light appeared, one from the sky, and one from the ground. They met on the tower, and it glowed with a radiance that could be seen for miles. When the light faded, the tower remained, but the magician was never seen again. It is assumed that he burned up under the force of the magic he had summoned. The mist outside is said to have been released from the Underworld itself, when it was breached by the spell."

"Makes sense to me. It was definitely not natural," Elazul commented.

"The undead that normally haunt the halls of the tower were assumed to be a byproduct of travelers that get lost in the valley. Their souls were caught in the mist, which carried some of the properties of the Underworld, but was unable to progress further."

"So…if the mirror was broken, the path to the Underworld was reopened, and the mist drained back to where it came from?" Ren frowned. "We certainly didn't meet any more zombies and such coming back _down_ the tower…but wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Perhaps it is." Matilda opened her eyes again. "I merely wish to understand what happened. It's you three who seem to think something terrible will come of it."

Ren blinked, and looked at the Jumi. Elazul looked away again, staring broodily at the table. Pearl, silent as ever, simply looked back in confusion.

"I…I don't know…" she said finally. "I just feel like there was something _wrong_ there. Not just…Sandra, but something else."

"Mmm." Ren tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. "I'm afraid I'm having a little trouble….hah, okay, a lot of trouble, remembering most of what went on up there. El?"

He shook his head, still not looking at any of them. Suspicious, Ren thought, but…trying to pry it out of him in front of the Abbess would just be embarrassing. "You see?" she said instead. "I'm afraid we can't be much help. It kind of just…happened. We weren't deliberately trying to break things."

"No, that was Sandra," Elazul said irritably, standing up again. "I don't think there's anything else we can help you with. We should be going."

"Elazul!" Pearl jumped up as he headed for the door, but he didn't stop. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed to Matilda, ducking her head. "I'm really sorry…"

"Don't worry," the Abbess said calmly. "There was nothing else I wanted to ask."

"Still…" Pearl hesitated, then ran out the door. Ren sighed and stood up herself.

"I guess that's my cue," she said ruefully. "Thank you for letting us stay here."

"It was no problem." Matilda escorted her to the door, with Daena close behind, still silent. As Ren made to pass by, the Abbess laid a hand on her arm. "The spirits…" she said, hesitantly. "They speak to you, do they not?"

"I…well…" Ren stammered, caught off guard. "Sometimes, sort of. How did you…?"

"I can see them, hovering close to you. There was a time when…" Matilda's eyes fell on her own hand, gnarled and worn, and she dropped it quickly to her side. "No, don't mind me. The ramblings of an old woman." She smiled. "Please, be safe on your journey."

* * *

Ren exited the temple slowly, focused on her own thoughts. She found Elazul and Pearl waiting for her a little ways down the path to town. She stopped, staring pointedly at Elazul. He stared back.

"So," she said when it became obvious he wasn't going to explain himself. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing. I just figured it was time to leave, and I didn't feel like following any long drawn-out forms."

"Uh huh." Ren crossed her arms in front of her. "El…"

"I'm fine, okay!" he snapped. "I'm fine. Don't even ask. I swear, between the two of you…" he waved at Pearl as well. "Oh, nevermind. Let's just go." He started down the road, still griping back at them. "I've just had it with being thrown around, hit with things and generally manipulated for a while! I'd like to go back to Domina and _do nothing_ for a few days at least. Is that too much to ask?"

"All right, all right, we're coming." Ren waited for Pearl, and they trailed after him together.

"I'm sorry," Pearl said after a second. "He seems to be in a really bad mood…"

Ren shook her head. "Actually, I don't mind. Maybe when I get over his still being _alive_ I'll have time to worry about him being cranky. But for now…" Ren shrugged. "Let him complain. And stop apologizing for him, it's not _your_ fault."

"Isn't it?"

Ren started, a bit guiltily. "No…why should it be?"

"It's all right," Pearl looked up at her, grey eyes unblinking. "I know…what happened."

Ren stared at her. "Do you remember it after all?"

"Elazul told me."

"What…everything?"

"Yes…"

"_Elazul?_"

"This morning, before you woke up."

Ren watched the other Jumi, some ways ahead of them now. "Elazul?" she repeated, but thoughtfully. "I wonder if I actually got through to him."

"Got through…?" Pearl looked confused. "You didn't think you could?"

"Eh, well…it's kind of like talking to a wall sometimes. I wonder if he really hears anything I tell him."

"You think he doesn't…" Suddenly Pearl covered her mouth, laughing silently. "Oh Ren…"

"What?" Ren slowed her pace, but Pearl kept going and finally she ran to catch up. "Pearl! What is it?"

"It's not my place to say," Pearl said, composing herself. She looked up at Ren half shy, half candid. "But…really, he remembers every word you say." She watched her knight, a little sadly. "Trust me."

"Goddess," Ren said after a bit. "That could be embarrassing." Pearl giggled quietly. "So, since you're a seasoned El-observer, then…what is his problem now? If he already told you about…that is, I mean, are you okay with it?" she tried to catch herself before simply bowling over the guardian's problems.

"I don't know. I don't…want to talk about it. Not just yet…is that okay?"

"Of course," Ren laughed a little. "You can say as much or as little as you'd like. And if you'd like to shut it away and never talk about it again, that's fine too."

"I'll end up like Elazul, never telling people…" Pearl stared at the road, laughter gone now. "That other person…she frightened me."

"Yeah, me too." Ren watched the sky overhead, leaving the other girl to her thoughts. After a moment, she thought she could hear a faint tinny chime coming from nearby. Looking down in surprise, she saw Pearl holding a hand to her core, listening.

"He's…thinking," she said finally. "That's the best I can come up with."

"Thinking? About what?" The words came out automatically. Of course there were a thousand things he could be thinking about, individually or all at once. "Well, that's dangerous. Maybe I should stop him."

"Stop him?" Pearl looked confused. "Why?"

"Because…" Ren waved a hand through the air. "You have any idea what kind of strange mental cycle I had to break him out of on the way here? Thinking too much, that's what. If he goes that way again, I swear I'm going to have to beat him up or something."

Pearl looked up, startled, then smiled, sort of. "He…gets like that sometimes." She fiddled with a fold of her skirt. "All I could ever do was wait for it to blow over. He does eventually go back to normal."

"I didn't have time to wait it out. Not this time. We had to…well, it's over now." Saying those words, she felt a sudden sense of relief wash over her, and she sighed stretching her arms to the clouds. "It is, isn't it? Everything should be normal…for a little while anyway…" Ren thought she sounded a bit pleading, even to herself, and sighed.

"Normal…" Pearl echoed, and then was silent again. The city gates passed over their heads and the path took on a slightly steeper slope, descending to the forests below. Elazul remained uncommunicative, keeping his distance ahead of them, but Ren really didn't feel like bothering him, for once.

"He really…almost died, didn't he?" Pearl asked, suddenly. Ren blinked, feeling her mood drain away and trying not to be exasperated about it.

"Yes. So far as I know. Does it matter now?" The words came out irritable anyway. "Er, sorry, I didn't mean to snap…"

"No, you're right." Pearl hung her head. "I shouldn't have brought it up. I just wonder why he's being so…you think it still hurts him? I couldn't get him to talk about it at all, this morning."

"Ah…" Ren looked ahead towards Elazul. "Maybe. It would be a little cruel to make him _admit_ it, don't you think?"

Pearl blinked. "I never thought of that. He's always so…but that's the problem!" she exclaimed, suddenly raising her voice. "He does too much. Takes too much on himself, never admitting…"

"And what?" Ren interrupted. "You don't _like _that about him?" The Jumi girl cut her words off, nearly choking, and stared up at Ren in shock. "What? He wants to take care of you, and I thought you wanted to be cared for."

"But I don't want him to…"

"What? Protect you? Get hurt doing so? Die for you? He would, and he's _proud_ of it. Why would you take that away from him? I don't think…" Ren thought about the memories from the tower, scenes in the desert. "I don't think there'd be much left."

"That's exactly it!" Pearl, surprisingly, didn't give way. "He's always protected me, always, from everything. And now…I know that look, I know what he's thinking about." She let her breath out slowly. "Now…he wants to protect you too. Not instead of, _as well. _What if that's too much?" She trailed off, staring forlornly at the ground. "Maybe I should have stayed…the other way…"

"No!" Ren dove in front of Pearl and turned, forcing her to stop. "Seriously, no. Besides, think about what you're saying! I can protect myself!"

"Yes, but, he's going to try anyway…"

Ren snorted and started walking again. "That's _his_ problem." She watched the road pass under her feet for a while. "Anyway, it's a…mutual thing. We protect each other. You too."

"I don't want to just be…"

"Didn't you save me back there?" Ren looked over her shoulder, and saw Pearl stop, staring at her wonderingly. She grinned back at her. "You see? You just think too hard. Maybe it's a Jumi thing."

"But…that was just chance, or maybe it wasn't even me, maybe it was still that other woman…and…well, pushing over pedestals is not supposed to be my _job!_"

Ren slowed her pace again. If Pearl was being this tenacious there was nothing to do but let her talk it out. "So…"

"I…I should have been the one to heal him. It should have been _my_ job," Pearl said, a little bitterly. "For all the times he's protected me, for everything he's done. That was the moment I should have paid him back."

Ah. The heart of the matter showed up at last, and Ren found herself completely at a loss. As usual. "I'm sorry."

"It's not you…" Pearl looked up, dry-eyed but obviously wishing it differently. "It's me…"

"Pearl…"

The guardian shook her head. "Don't. I'm not angry. I suppose I should be, but I'm not. I'm only sad…sad that I couldn't. That I wasn't even there."

"Nobody's blaming you…" Ren started, then thought that wasn't the best thing to say, and fell silent, trying to think of something better. "I don't think you…_owe_ him anything."

"What?"

"If anything, he sees it as the other way around."

"But…I've never done anything for him. Nothing except get in the way."

"That's not true, but," she interrupted before Pearl could ask. "It's not my place to say." Ren grinned slyly. Pearl looked at her, uncomprehending, then suddenly her eyes widened.

"Ren! That's totally unfair!"

"I know! Come on, this is getting ridiculous!" Grabbing Pearl's hand, she dragged her down the road. "El! You're causing an insane amount of problems back here, and I don't think you even know it! Talk to us!"

"Talk?" Elazul finally looked around as they caught up. "About what?"

"Anything! You should know better than to leave two girls to chat behind your back. Who knows what we could be saying?"

Elazul looked them over. "I can imagine," he said, and kept walking.

"Oh can you? Do tell." Ren grinned at Pearl, who was looking like she couldn't figure out if she was supposed to laugh or not.

"No thanks, I'll leave that to you two."

"Argh." Ren let go of Pearl and hurried around in front of him, walking backwards. "We have a long trip back to Domina, you know. Please tell me you're not going to be _boring_ the whole way."

Elazul sighed at her. "Fine, I'll try not to be. What would make the trip more interesting, then?"

Ren spun back around, narrowly missing tripping over a rock. "Well, I could always use a good fight."

"Oh?" Elazul asked. "Over what?" Ren could hear Pearl giving in and laughing behind him.

"Not with _you_," Ren clarified. "I probably need to kill something. That always makes me feel better."

"You're warped, you know that?" Elazul shook his head in mock sadness. "Well, we're surrounded by mountains full of caves and deep forests below. Where do you want to hunt?"

"What, you actually want to go _find_ something nasty?"

"Why not? Won't be the first time I've sought out some hapless monster to take out frustration on."

"And you say _I'm_ warped?"

"Takes one to know one…" Elazul scanned the forests rising slowly to meet them. "Hmm?"

"What?" Ren blinked at his change in tone.

"Look there." Elazul pointed upwards and away. A green streak was drifting through the sky towards them.

"Viri," Ren said as she recognized the shape. "Finally decided to come find us, did he?" Then she frowned; the dragon's flight path was decidedly uneven. "What's wrong with him?" she asked, alarmed now, and ran forward to meet him as he descended to the path.

"_Ren._" Viridian settled to the ground. He lowered his head to her and said nothing else.

"Viri? What's wrong? Hey, talk to me." Ren reached out to stroke the top of his head, but he jerked back and shook it rapidly.

"_I feel strange,_" he said.

"How so?" Ren wondered if dragons got sick, and if they did, how did one treat a dragon?

"_So very strange_," Viridian repeated, unhelpfully. A tremor seemed to travel down his spine, then stopped abruptly.

"What were you doing? Did you eat something weird? Sunstroke? Hey El, do dragons get sick?"

Elazul shrugged. "How would I know?"

"I don't know…you know the most random stuff, it was worth a shot."

"_Why are you asking_ him?" Viridian loomed over Ren's shoulder, glaring at Elazul. "_I feel better now, anyway._"

"That was quick. Let's go then." Elazul turned away and started down the road again.

"El!" Ren scolded, but he wasn't paying attention anymore. Pearl shot her an apologetic look, and ran to catch her knight. Sighing, Ren started to follow, but Viridian darted in front of her.

"_Fly with me,_" he said.

"What? Viri, I can't leave them…" she glanced at Elazul and Pearl.

"_Please?_" The dragon turned pleading golden eyes on her. "_Just for a little while. We won't lose track of them, we'll stay right over head. Just…fly with me._"

"Okay…hey! El!" she called, and the others turned to look at her. "I'm going up for a bit, try not to get lost!" Elazul looked between her and Viridian for a moment, as if thinking of objecting, then shrugged and continued down the road.

Ren vaulted to the dragon's back and settled in as he leapt back into the air. He drifted lazily along, keeping pace with the Jumi below. "All right," she said, eventually. "Tell me what happened."

"_I don't know. I was just flying around, waiting for you guys to do whatever you were doing in that city, when everything went…strange._"

"You know, that's not a very definitive word."

"_The air went blurry and the world tilted. There was a voice, it was laughing at me, it said…_"

_You again, Viridian? What a sad, hollow shell you have become. _The air rippled around him, stinging zephyrs of wind tearing past, only to circle around and strike again. _What did she even bring you back for? It's almost insulting._

Viridian fought against the wind, but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. The voice laughed, now from this side, now from below. _You cannot save her,_ it hissed, almost a whisper now, and the wind died. Viridian hung in the air, still as a statue, unable to move. _You cannot stop her._

The wind flared up again, pushing down from above, driving him towards the earth with breathtaking speed.

_I killed you once, I can do it again._

"Stop!" Ren cut him off with a gasp; her own breath seemed driven from her lungs, her vision hazy.

"_You asked what happened…_"

"I didn't mean to _show_ me! I don't want to see…" she stopped, blinking at the blue sky around them. "How did you do that?"

"_Do what?_"

Ren couldn't answer for a moment. She leaned against the dragon's back, staring at nothing. "I heard it too, in the tower…it said…things…" It was gone again. "No, it's _important_, why can't I…"

"_Who was it? What did they want?_" Viridian craned his neck back to look at her.

"I don't know. I don't want to know, but I think we're going to find out." She stroked his fur thoughtfully. "You'll have to keep a lookout, Viri. The way I am now…I'll never see it coming."

The dragon whined softly. "_It's okay. I didn't much like that voice. I'll fight it. It can't scare me just with words…I'm not afraid!_" He executed a quick loop in the air, as if shaking off his fears.

"That's the spirit," Ren grinned at the air. "Feel better now?"

"_Yes. I feel much better…when I'm with you. Everything seems much more real. When you're gone, everything seems shallow, flat. Like paper._"

"You never said."

"_I didn't know the right words._"

"Ah." Ren listened to the wind blowing past for a while. "It's funny, really, that you should say that."

"_Why?_"

"Because I don't feel very….real, lately. It's nice to know someone believes in me."

"_Only one?_" Viridian laughed, suddenly. "_Well, if you want to believe that, I'm fine with being the only one._"

Ren smiled, that sounded much more like normal. "Nice try, Viri. I almost didn't see that one coming. Almost."

"_Tch_." The dragon circled around and swooped down to rejoin the Jumi.

* * *

When they finally reached home, late the next day, Ren was surprised to see Jennifer running out of the house to greet them. "Ren! What were you thinking! I was so worried…" She threw her arms around her target, but not for long. Looking over Ren's shoulder she caught sight of Pearl. "Pearl!" she exclaimed and ran to hug the shorter girl instead. "Oh! We thought you were…and you!" Spinning around, she turned an almost frightening look on Elazul. "I've been wanting to talk to you…"

Ren backed slowly away, bumped into something and nearly fell as the twins attached themselves onto her arms. "Reeeeeeeeeen!" Lisa whined. "I can't believe you ran off like that!"

"I see you found them both though," Bud cast an eye over the rest of the gathering. "I guess that's okay then…"

"Did you meet that jewel hunter again?"

"Did you kill her?" Bud asked, eagerly.

"Yes. No. Unfortunately," Ren answered. "But I'll call it a victory all the same. I think."

"You're alive, aren't you?" Lisa looked towards Elazul, like she expected him to fall over any minute. "And _he's_ alive, and you found Pearl…"

"Told you she would!" Bud grinned at his sister.

"I wasn't arguing!" Lisa snapped back. "Why do you have to act like I was…"

"Hey…hey, it's okay." Ren tried to stave off the argument. "I'm back, everything's fine. I'd better go rescue El though, Jennifer looks like she's in full mother hen mode."

"Don't." Lisa caught hold of her sleeve before she could turn. "Jennifer's been saying that if you guys came back in one piece she fully intended to have a talk with…er… 'that young man' I think was how she put it."

"Yeah, if you interrupt now, it might be hazardous." Bud cautioned. "She came down to check up on you and when she found out you'd both gone tearing off over the countryside…well…"

"Ah," Ren glanced over her shoulder. Elazul shot her a 'don't leave me with this woman' look, but she pretended not to see it. "Well. It won't kill him to talk to someone other than me for a minute anyway," she rationalized. "Come on, let's get inside before she decides I need a lecture too."

* * *

That evening, Ren set Pearl up in the attic with the twins, and Elazul in the living room with the fireplace, and if the small house felt a bit crowded, nobody complained overly much. In fact, everyone seemed determined to be in a good mood, even Elazul, though he managed to avoid all of Ren's more interesting questions, like 'so, what did Jennifer have to say'.

After a couple of days, she gave up. She could probably guess anyway, there really wasn't any point in rubbing it in. Besides, there was plenty of other things to occupy her. She shot around the village like a hummingbird, darting from house to house to find things to do for people. To make up for her dragon wrecking the market, she told herself, but really, it was just for things to do.

She was getting pretty good at distracting herself. A small inner part of her brain told her that this was _still_ not the right way to go about it, but she ignored it. If it got too loud she went back to the house and dragged someone back up to help out with whatever she was working on at the moment. Pearl and the twins and even Viridian seemed to catch her bug, and Domina became a veritable hive of helpfulness for a while.

Elazul came with her too, off and on, but he seemed to get tired easily, and even more easily distracted. Most of the time he stayed at her house, doing, so far as she could tell, nothing.

"Give him time," was all Jennifer would say when Ren confronted her on the topic. Ren found this extremely unhelpful. She knew this was fairly normal Elazul-behavior, and she _had_ been hoping for things to go back to normal, but…part of her had really been hoping that 'normal' didn't have to mean a thousand steps backward in other things.

After a particularly hot day helping trim the bushes in the fountain park, Ren finally decided she'd done enough. She was sure she'd made up for at least _most_ of the market disaster, and she was darn well going to go slack off for a while. She took the road home with every intention of copying Elazul and doing nothing for a few days.

As she rounded the bend in the path, she spied him lying on the grass in front of the treehouse, staring up at the sky as if he'd been at it for a while and planned on continuing all day. A lingering bit of frustration bubbled up in the back of her head, but she forced it down.

"Hey," she said, wandering up to him. "Done anything useful lately?"

"Not really."

"Even Pearl's pulling her weight around here you know."

"I'm sorry."

Ren blinked at that, it wasn't at all what she'd expected to hear. Not in a sincere tone of voice anyway. She leaned forward, trying to discern his expression, but he continued staring off into space.

"El, come on, talk to me. You've been downright strange since we left Gato."

"Have I?" Elazul's eyes flicked towards her. "I haven't been trying to be."

"No, you've obviously been _trying_ to act normal, which is what's suspicious."

"Maybe I am acting normal, and you've just gotten so used to me being strange that now you think _that's_ normal."

"Gah, don't play with my head, or I swear I'll kick you."

"You make it too easy." Elazul shrugged without getting up. "Sit down already, you're blocking my sun."

Ren grumbled a bit, but took a seat on the grass nearby, looking back and forth between him and the sky a couple of times. "What are you looking at?" she asked finally.

"Clouds."

Ren examined the clouds. "Look like anything specific to you?"

"No. Just clouds. I'm not that creative."

"Not thinking about anything?"

"Trying not to, really."

"Oh." Not thinking about anything sounded wonderful. She wondered how one managed it. Clouds were probably as good a distraction as any. She started to lie down herself, then shot a glance at Elazul. Maybe…

Ren edged a little closer and leaned back against his shoulder. She felt him stiffen as if startled, and sat up again quickly. "I'm sorry…"

His arm reached around her waist, pulling her back down. "Stay," he said, without taking his eyes from the sky. "It's alright."

She settled back again, hesitantly. "What am I supposed to think?" she hissed in his ear. "You jump a mile high every time someone touches you, I swear."

"Sorry," he said, smiling slightly. "Reflex."

Ren snickered, but didn't bother to comment further. She watched several birds fly by, heading for the far corners of the woods. "I wish," she said, suddenly feeling the need to break silence. "I could remember the last time I felt like this. Calm."

Elazul didn't reply immediately, but he'd definitely started thinking again. "Maybe," he said after a bit. "I mean, did you ever think that…perhaps it would be better _not_ to remember? That the reason you don't remember your past is because it's better left unknown?"

Ren looked over at him, startled. "My past?" She watched the birds fly back again. Maybe they couldn't make up their mind. "El…my _past_ has never bothered me."

"No?" He finally broke his gaze from the sky and looked at her.

"Anything that happened before I came to Domina…whatever, wherever it might have been, hasn't really crossed my mind. At least, I'm not worried about it now, and somehow I don't think it's ever worried me. I've found a place here, you know? My life is here now. That's why…" Her hand tightened on the grass next to her, and she forced it to relax short of tearing up her own lawn. "It's _now_ that concerns me. It's the fact that I can't remember things that happened a few _days_ ago. The past can stay where it is and good riddance but…"

"But?" Elazul asked, sounding concerned as she trailed off.

Ren closed her eyes, as if she could seal the image there. Clouds and sun and birds, with the house behind them where the twins and Pearl were waiting. "It's…moments like this that I don't ever want to forget."

Elazul didn't respond to that, not out loud anyway. There were a thousand things she wanted to ask, to tell, to say, but suddenly it all seemed very distant. There, important things screamed to be noticed, but here, for the moment, everything was normal. She could hear the soft thrum of Elazul's core next to her, and the clouds drifting aimlessly overhead told her that, yes, it was possible to think of nothing at all.

* * *

"You know, that one actually does kind of look like a dragon."

Ren opened her eyes again, wondering if she'd dozed off. She followed Elazul's gaze to a form between the clouds. "That's because it _is_ a dragon," she explained.

"Bah." Elazul extracted his arm from underneath her and sat up hurriedly.

Ren glared at him, sitting up as well. "It's just Viri, what's the rush?"

"I've been enjoying being in one piece. I'd like to stay that way." Elazul slid over, putting some distance between them.

"Oh come on, he's harmless and you know it."

"One of these days, Ren, you are going to have to realize that your little green lizard is actually a _dragon_, and harmless does not in any way, shape or form apply to him."

"I'm aware he might be slightly outgrowing the term _pet_, but that doesn't mean he's going to eat you or anything…" There was a flash from above and then something long and solid whizzed through the air and struck the ground between them, sending grass everywhere. Ren rolled away and sprang to her feet, but nothing else rained down on them.

"You were saying?" Elazul asked, pointedly.

"Of course, I could be wrong. Viri!" She turned her eyes skyward. "What do you think you're playing at, throwing…." She glanced at the object, half driven into the dirt. "…_things_ at us!"

"The hell is that, anyway?" Elazul asked, which was exactly what Ren had been thinking.

"I think it's a sword," she said, reluctantly, prodding the object with one foot. It had a hilt anyway, decorated in more colors than a child's painting, and an extremely dull looking blade descended into the ground at an odd sort of angle. "If you could make a sword out of flour-paste anyway."

"_It _is_ a sword._" Viridian landed in front of them. "_It's for him_." He gestured at Elazul.

"Um…" Elazul didn't seem to know what to make of that. "Why?"

"Maybe it's a peace offering. Told you he's harmless," Ren whispered.

Not quietly enough, though. Viridian put his head down closer to them. "_I am not. You could call it a truce, though. After all, he's looking for the mana sword, yes? So I thought, if I found him a mana sword, he'd take it and go away, right?_" The dragon looked at Ren with perfect seriousness.

"Wrong," she muttered. "Don't you ever give _up?_"

"_Give up on what?_" Viridian sat back, looking affronted. "_I'm trying to be helpful here._"

"About as helpful as you are harmless," Elazul countered. "What in all mana's creation made you think _that_ was…"

Ren jumped in quickly as the dragon's tail began to twitch. "I'm sure he means well, really…" she said, rather unconvincingly, and tried to change the subject. "Viri, where did you er…find it?"

"_Niccolo._" He looked at the sword proudly. "_He said it was a genuine mana sword._"

"Niccolo." Ren couldn't get past that for a moment, then finally managed, "Did you _really_ think Niccolo sells genuine _anything?_"

"Genuine trash," Elazul put in, walking around the sword to stare at it from every angle in disbelief. The feathers haphazardly glued to it ruffled as he passed.

"_It was worth a shot,_" Viridian said sulkily, settling into the grass.

"Nothing from that rabbit is worth…" Ren stopped suddenly. "Wait, how much did you _pay_ him for this thing?"

"_Nothing_." The dragon flicked a claw.

"Nothing? How did you manage that?"

"_Grabbed the sword and flew off,_" he explained matter-of-factly. "_He has no business sense, and less reflexes._"

Elazul snorted suddenly, in laughter. "For once, I think I like you," he said. Viridian's eyes sparkled slightly.

"Viri…you can't just…" Ren started.

"_Well, he asked for several million lucre for it, and that's nothing but robbery, which makes him a criminal, yes? Stealing from bandits is hardly stealing._"

"He has a point," Elazul put in.

"Don't start _siding_ with him now." Ren sighed. "We'll have to take it back. He'll only con someone else into buying it, but…"

"_I'll take it_," Viridian offered.

"No…that's okay," Ren eyed him carefully. "Take a break. I'm sure you're tired from all that haggling. El, grab the sword and lets go."

Elazul stared at her. "_You_ grab it. I'm not going to be caught dead carrying that thing."

"It's just a chuck of metal on a stick, El. I'm not asking you to _fight_ with it."

"No way." He pointed an accusing finger at the sword. "It has _bells_ on it, for the goddess' sake, and…what are those, streamers? I'm not touching it."

"Why, think it'll infect you?" Ren rolled her eyes and walked over to the sword. "I'm totally going to let the twins dye all your clothes pink one of these days. It's just a…holy crap is this made out of _lead?_" She hefted the weapon out of the ground with some effort and glared at it. Slinging it over her shoulder she started towards Domina. "Fine. You just stay here then," she called back. "I'm going to return this to Niccolo."

"Any bets on how he comes out of this?" she heard Elazul ask, behind her.

"_It is pretty heavy, that sword,_" Viridian commented. "_Her hand might slip._"


	21. Remembered

Well here it is at last…the holidays threw a wrench in my writing. Specifically, I got a PS3 for Christmas. Also, a game called Oblivion, which has proceeded to suck up my free time like nothing else. I think the only way I could get _more_ obsessed with a game is to start playing World of Warcraft. :p

Still, I finally pried myself away long enough to write this chapter. Here's to hoping I beat the game soon or the next might take months to write. ;)

* * *

21 – Remembered

* * *

Ren's pace slowed by the time she got to the third or fourth bend in the path to Domina. The sword really was heavy, and the sun seemed especially hot, beating down on her shoulders, which was odd because it had been perfectly temperate when she'd been lying on the grass.

Looking wistfully back towards home, Ren was tempted to drop the thing in the dirt and leave it there for Niccolo or whoever to find. Drat Viridian anyway. Spend most of a week trying to get someone to even _look_ at you straight, and then when you finally make some progress, there's a great hulking lizard _throwing_ things at you.

_Stupid dragon._ Ren shifted her grip on the sword's hilt and stumped on towards the town. She was concentrating so hard on putting one foot in front of the other that she didn't noticed there was someone else on the road until she nearly ran him down.

Blinking her eyes back into focus, she looked up at a hairy, reddish face covered in bristly fur. Black bits of armor covered various vulnerable areas, but mostly, it was fur. Ren tilted her head to one side and just barely stopped herself from saying something insulting. She _would_ run into someone strange-looking when she was feeling irritable already. "…'lo. Nice day," she muttered instead, and started to walk around him.

"Are you the one who claimed that sword, then?" he asked, bringing her to a halt again.

Ren looked at him, then back along the length of the blade balanced on her shoulder. "Well, I _have_ it, but 'claimed'? Do I look like I need another one?"

"Nevertheless…it is yours." He frowned, holding his chin in one hand. "I was expecting someone more…"

"Taller, maybe?" Ren held the sword at arm's length. "This is obviously made for someone else. You've got the wrong…wait a minute. Viri got the sword from _Niccolo_, what do _you_ have to do with it?"

"Viri?" The dog-man raised a bushy eyebrow. "You did not purchase it yourself?"

"No, my idiot dragon did. So to speak." Ren set the sword down; his eyes followed it.

"Dragon." It was a statement, not a question, and apparently it explained a lot, because he nodded to himself. "That's that, then." Suddenly he looked up, straight into her eyes. "My name is Larc," he informed her. "When you want to know more, meet me at the cemetery."

"We have a cemetery?" Ren was stuck on that thought for a second while the rest caught up. "Wait a minute, I've never seen you before, what could you possible know that…"

"And bring that thing," Larc interrupted, gesturing at the sword.

"Eh?" She picked it up again and grimaced, then peered at the rather muscled dog-person. "It's _heavy._ Aren't you going to offer to carry it for me?"

Larc blinked at her, possibly in surprise, and then stepped backwards, fading into the trees.

"Men," Ren muttered, hefting the sword to her shoulder again. "Wave a little bit of color at them, and they'd rather carry a dead rat. You'd think _someone_ around here would be secure enough in their masculinity to help out a _girl_," she raised her voice for the last few words, but Larc didn't reappear. She sighed and started walking again. "Fine. Don't need your help anyway. Or your advice. Hope you like cemeteries, because you're going to be waiting a _long_ time."

* * *

Ren was still grumbling at the world in general as she made her way, panting, into Domina proper. She was feeling annoyed to the point where she was actually starting to enjoy it. Now all she needed was a nice fat rabbit to take it all out on. Heading for the restaurant, she let herself in, despite the 'closed' sign on the door.

"I'm cleaning up after lunch in here," Rachel…no, Rosemary…buzzed down the stairs. "We'll be open…oh." She recognized Ren, then her eyes drifted to the object she was carrying.

"Not a word, not a _word,_" Ren cautioned her. "Just find me Niccolo."

"He left on a business trip, I think." Rosemary shrugged. "I saw him pass through the market earlier. Really, really quickly."

"I see." Ren slammed the sword onto the nearest table with a _thunk_, and wiped her hands on her skirt; they felt sweaty and itchy from carrying the thing. "In that case, find me a drink. Really, really quickly."

As Rosemary disappeared into the back room, the front door slammed open. "I forgot! I need to buy…" Niccolo stopped in mid-sentence, staring at Ren. She stared back. Then, she vaulted over the table and snagged the rabbit by the back of his coat before he could make it out through the door.

"Let go of me, you hoodlum!" he yelled. "First your insane pet steals my merchandise, and now you're trying to kill me! Let go I say!"

"No." Ren maintained her grip until he calmed down a bit. "I'm not going to kill you. Yet," she added, just for effect. "I'm just trying to return your…er…merchandise."

"No refunds," Niccolo said, collapsing sullenly into a chair.

"Viri didn't _pay_ for it, so you don't need to give me a _refund,_" Ren explained patiently. "Just take it back."

Niccolo eyed the sword like it was going to stab him all on it's own. "That's okay. You can keep it. For all your…service to the community."

"I don't _want_ it."

"Neither did I." Niccolo spread his hands helplessly. "I do have _taste_, you know. But this big red guy gave it to me. He _insisted_ someone would want it, and really, he didn't look like the type to argue with."

"Big red guy." Ren drummed her fingers on the table. "Why, _why_ do I feel like I'm being set up for something?"

Niccolo looked up at her, all innocence. "Want to buy some insurance?"

"No."

"So if you're going to be keeping it then, there is a little matter of the price…"

"Go away."

"Not to mention damages to my person, nearly gave me a heart attack, that dragon…"

"_Now._"

Niccolo held his ground for a moment more, then scurried for the door, slamming it behind him. Ren sat down in the chair he had vacated and glared at the sword. She could swear it looked smug. She started to pull it closer for a better look, and dropped it back to the table quickly. The hilt was _hot_, as if it had soaked up all the sun from outside and stored it for later.

Could it be that there was actually some magic there? Could it be that….?

No, that was ridiculous. What she should do, is go back home and get Elazul…no, that wouldn't work. She knew exactly what his reaction would be if she said she thought some dog-person was trying to trick her into something. Ren shook her head. No one needed that right now.

"Um, I don't know if this is okay, but there are some notes back there about what various people like…" Rosemary fluttered back over and set a glass on the table.

"It's fine." Ren didn't even look at it. "Hey, what do you call it when you keep thinking one person is the answer to all your problems?"

"I would call it being in love," the girl said with typical teenage focus.

"Tunnel-vision," Ren corrected. "All you can see is this one pinprick of light, and everything else is a blank." She picked up the glass and drained it, then stared until the spots cleared from her eyes. Mostly. Rosemary was watching her in shock

"Should I…go get Jennifer?" The girl asked, backing away a bit.

"No. I'm fine. Is there a cemetery around here?"

"Out the north gate…why?"

Ren tapped the sword, then gathered it up and headed for the door. "Going to decorate a tombstone," she said. "That's all this is good for."

* * *

Ren made it as far as the fountain park before deciding she needed another rest. She wasn't actually _tired_, really, she just caught sight of the water sparkling in the sunlight and allowed herself to be distracted. Leaning the self-heating sword against the edge of the fountain, she trailed her fingers through the water.

There were a few people wandering the path, but they soon disappeared beyond the trees. A younger couple was sitting on a bench on the other side of the clearing, paying her no notice whatsoever. Ren watched them jealously for a moment before realizing what she was doing and looking away quickly.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" she asked the goddess statue above the fountain. "A simple, normal relationship with its fair share of problems, but nothing terribly drastic, yes? None of this turning to stone nonsense, no dragons butting in every ten minutes, a house that wasn't under constant threat of explosion…." She snorted and shook her head. "Nah, that would be boring. I couldn't stand boring, but…just a _little_ less exciting might be nice. You know," she continued, a little bitterly. "Like being able to remember the times when things are normal, so that when everything goes to hell like it always does, there's something brighter to remember…gah!" She punctuated the last syllable with a blow to the water that scattered puddles everywhere.

Blinking water out of her eyes, she saw the couple get up and head for the exit, glancing over their shoulders and whispering to each other. "Yes, I am insane!" she yelled after them. "Don't let it ruin your day or anything!" The woman stopped at that, and turned, as if she was going to yell back.

"Er…sorry," Ren apologized quickly. "I think I had a little much to drink. Sorry." She forced a smile until they gave up on her and left the park, then slumped back against the fountain. "I did _not_ have too much to drink," she informed the sky. "Most likely, I'm just crazy. Try explaining that to anyone, though."

There was a soft splash behind her. Turning, she saw one of her hair-sticks must have slipped from its place during her brief tantrum and was bobbing around in the water. Ren pushed it under and watched it float back to the surface a few times. Suddenly, a blue face popped up next to it, and the water spirit bubbled up from the pool, clutching the stick in her arms.

_Enough already!_ she exclaimed. _You're making me ill._

"You're telling me a _water_ spirit gets seasick?" Ren plucked the stick from Undine's hands and stuck it back in her hair.

_No. Your emotions, your state of mind. It's…turbulent._

"I totally needed an otherworldly presence to tell me that, too. How did you know?"

_You are anxious, confused, concerned. That calls to me. _Apparently spirits were immune to sarcasm.

"To you, specifically, or spirits in general?" Ren fiddled with the rest of her ornaments, wondering if she could call a whole spirit army.

_Me, specifically._ Undine looked up at her. _Please don't do that, Salamander will be rather angry if you summon him in the water._

Ren let go of the stick. "Sorry. I'm a little out of sorts right now. I'm not even really sure why."

Undine declined to comment. Instead she floated over to the edge of the pool and peered at the sword. _What…is that?_ she asked, obviously changing the subject.

"It's a mana sword. Just for you."

The spirit looked up sharply. _That's not funny._

"You don't appear to have a sense of humor, so it hardly matters, does it?" Ren ignored the shocked look directed her way. "I _know_ it's not the real one. Some random person apparently set me up to get a hold of this thing, and I don't know why. I find it rather suspicious though. I was thinking of going and giving him a piece of my mind."

Undine looked at the sword, then backed away from it slowly. _I don't like it. Why not just throw it away?_

"I don't know! I want to give it back to that dog guy! Because…I don't know why. I just think that would be better than just tossing it somewhere."

_Why?_

"Because! Because…why do you care anyway?" Ren realized she was shouting, and wasn't quite sure when she'd started. "I fail to see how it's any of your _business!_"

Undine recoiled. _What is wrong with you?_

"Wrong with me? _Wrong_ with me? Tell me that's a rhetorical question!" Ren finally lowered her voice, leaning against the pool edge with her head in one hand. "Everything's wrong with me. It's probably your fault too."

_No._ A second spirit boiled into being next to Undine. _You did this to yourself._

"Don't be ridiculous." Ren didn't even bother looking up.

_I'm never ridiculous!_ Wisp insisted. _You've been ignoring us, pushing us aside, getting absolutely nothing done. You call us when you want something, and then forget instantly that we need you too!_

"Then why don't you leave?" Ren hissed between her teeth. "Go find someone more _competent._"

_We can't! We need you! _Undine broke in. _On our own we…hardly exist. We touch the world lightly, spirits. When we bond with someone, when they call us, it is their will that shapes us. Good, evil, we are merely forces to be drawn upon._

Despite herself, Ren was intrigued. "But…you seem to have personalities? Or am I simply imagining you this way?"

_No, we do. It's just that very few people can talk to us like this, as ourselves. It is…something beyond simple magic._

"Oh?" Ren felt slightly flattered. "Then how did you exist, before I showed up?"

Wisp, seemingly calmer now, continued, _The goddess was our mother. She drew together the forces of nature, of mana, and gave us life. Gave us…personality, as you said. After she…disappeared, after the great tree burned, we were lost. We bonded with others occasionally, but separately. We drew apart. Not until you…appeared could we be brought together again._

"The goddess existed? I thought it was just a you-know…metaphor kind of thing." Ren peered at the statue overhead, like it might offer a better explanation.

_She was real,_ Wisp insisted. _She _is_ real. We need her. That is why you must find the Sword of Mana. The _real_ one. _He looked at the strange painted weapon disdainfully.

Ren ignored the pointed glance. "Why?"

The question seemed to drive the spirit into a small, contained fit of annoyance, but he kept his voice calm. _The sword will bring the tree, the tree will bring the goddess, the goddess will restore mana. The breaks in the world will be sealed, we will return to full power, and the evils that grow stronger day by day will be…weakened, if not vanquished._

"Sounds pretty idealistic to me." Ren shrugged. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

_We did!_ Wisp cried, flickering madly.

"Oh." Ren continued to stare over his head, as he nearly growled in frustration. "Then, where is the real sword?"

_We don't know. _Undine took over, shooting a worried glance at Wisp.

"And you accuse me of doing nothing? It's been what, centuries since the mana tree burned? What have _you_ been doing all this time?"

_Waiting. We were not strong enough, on our own. When not connected to someone, to something to give us form…we fade. We cannot remember…who we are, what we are for, what is important._

Ren stopped, one hand raised to continue railing at the spirits, as the words sunk in. "Oh."

_Sound familiar?_ Wisp asked, slyly. Ren wanted to snap back, but she couldn't. She stared at the water falling from the fountain for a long time.

"But…you said that you've bonded, connected, to me, right?" she asked, once she had gathered her thoughts back into something more conducive to normal conversation. "So you should be able to remember things now?"

_No,_ Undine said carefully. _We…are only as good as the soul that binds us. Your soul is…fragmentary._

Ren laid a hand over her heart automatically. "What does that mean?"

_I…I don't know how to explain it…_

"Forget it then," Ren waved it off quickly; the thought frightened her. "You're saying you're sharing my problem, or contributing to it?"

_Both. As we gather, we grow in strength…but we must feed, to a point, off the one who carries us. You were not as strong as you should have been, to begin with, and now…we grow stronger, but…_

_Our source grows weaker._ Wisp continued when Undine faltered.

"You guys are not helping my self-esteem here." Ren commented, a bit shakily.

_Sorry._ Oddly enough, the light spirit sounded like he meant it. _It is not your fault, I don't think. Not to start with._

"Oh?"

_It has been too long. It should not have been this long._ Wisp bounced up and down a little, urgently. _And other things…things are missing, that should be here…_

"What do you mean?"

_I don't know! _Wisp sounded annoyed with himself now. _What we see, it's like an outline, without substance or color. Something that once was there, but is no longer. Shapes, ideas, but nothing solid, nothing to latch on to. That is what we need you for. You must find the truth._

"But I can't hold onto anything long enough to…" Ren trailed off before repeating the excuses yet again. "I've…really screwed this up haven't I?"

_It's not just you,_ Wisp continued, grudgingly. _There is another power, growing stronger. It is feeding on mana, somehow, but we cannot trace it. It hastens the end._

Ren put her head to one side. That sounded more like her thing. "You want me to find it and kill it? I could probably manage that."

_That would not fix the problem, only slow it. The waning of mana…_

"Yes, yes." Ren waved him off. "So we're back to the stupid sword. How do you even know it exists?"

_It existed. When the mana tree stood, it existed. That much we know._

"But no one's seen it since then?" Ren frowned. "Elazul was looking for it, you know?"

_So?_ Wisp asked.

"So he _knew_ about it. He knew that it could restore the Jumi's tears, which I can only suppose are linked to the waning power of mana. He must have heard it from _someone,_ who must have heard it from someone else…so it was known widely enough that the legendary sword could restore mana." The spirits were watching her intently now, so she continued. "But no one has found it. In all this time since the mana tree burned…isn't that a little improbable? That all the magicians and priests and knights and who knows what else that would be interested in such a thing, haven't found it yet?"

_Maybe they did, and it got lost again?_ Undine asked reasonably.

"Maybe." Ren shrugged. "Maybe it doesn't even exist anymore. It doesn't matter." Wisp stared at her in shock. "Don't you see? What I'm saying is that what's important is not what's happening _now_, but what happened _then._ Where did the sword go? The answer lies in the past. How far back, I don't know, but it's there. Am I right?"

_At least you're getting into the spirit of the thing now. _Wisp said, still sounding a bit confused.

"Was that a pun?" Ren almost giggled, but sobered quickly. "What I mean is…well…I'm not sure how to explain it. It's just a thought, a hunch." She gestured at the fake mana sword. "That thing."

Wisp looked at it. _What about it?_

"It's a set-up if I ever saw one, and it's only more clearly a set-up now that I've talked to you. The person who gave it to me, he simply said 'when you want to know more, find me'. He _knew_ I would want to know more. He knew putting out rumors about a 'mana sword' would draw me. Me, specifically." Ren hurried on before that thought could bother her. "That I would make a connection between _that_ and the real one. That I would _care_, that I would know the significance of it…and seek him out. He knew. He knows something."

_Clever,_ said Wisp. _But trustworthy?_

"I doubt it. But if he knows something, anything, then I'd better take it. The answer obviously lies in the past…and that's a lot of time to cover blindly."

_You suddenly seem very determined,_ Undine commented brightly. _Focused._

"Yes…I'm not sure why, but then again, I'm never sure. I just…do things." Ren sighed, looking over her shoulder to the south, then traced a circle on the water, a little sadly. "Damn. I just finished telling Elazul I didn't care about the past. That I simply want to go on with my life…and now look at me. I get the strangest feeling…oh, nevermind."

_You can continue to ignore it,_ Wisp said sullenly. _It's worked so far._

"Oh shut up. No, I won't ignore it. I'll do something, whatever I need to do."

_Still,_ Undine drifted over to the sword again. _I don't like that thing. It feels wrong._

"Of course it's wrong. It looks like a child's finger-painting of a fairy-sword. It's _horrible,_ but it's the only lead I have."

_Be careful. Please be careful. We need you._

"No pressure or anything, I'm sure." Ren closed her eyes and shook her head; when she opened them again, the spirits were gone.

The hilt of the sword burned slightly, but she ignored it as she hauled it back up. If nothing else, it would be good for beating an explanation out of that Larc person, and she _was_ going to get an explanation. If the clues to the present lay in the past, then she would hunt down the past. It was simple enough, in theory.

She hesitated briefly at the park exit, looking back to the south, then shook her head. How long could it possibly take to talk to the guy? She'd be done by dinner, certainly. No need to tell people where she was going, like a kid out for a walk. Gripping the sword, she headed for the north of town.

* * *

A little ways outside the north gate there was a branch in the road. A small disused looking path turned off to one side, winding its way through the trees until it met a rusty, vine-covered gate. An ancient lock held the two halves together, but a glance was enough to tell Ren it wouldn't hold for long. Looking around for witnesses, she struck it with the hilt of the heavy sword, kicking the pieces aside as they fell to the ground.

Leaning against the gate, it screamed in protest as she forced it open. "Hmph," she said, passing through and looking around. "Someone could have mentioned it was an _old_ graveyard, as in not visited anymore, as in bring some oil and a weed cutter with you."

The gravestones, those not completely covered in the encroaching vines, were nearly unrecognizable under layers of lichen and moss. Further back, Ren could see some fancier markers, statues and tombs erected for people above being buried in the actual _dirt._ Picking her way between them, she could see why no one came here anymore. The ground was so crowded, there wasn't enough room left to bury a rabite, much less a person, and judging by the weathered inscriptions, everybody here had died ages ago.

"No relatives left to visit, and no new company on the way." Ren patted a nearby stone comfortingly. "Lonely much?"

"And what would you do if something answered you?" Larc stepped out from behind a leaning statue and regarded her impassively.

Ren stabbed the annoying sword into the ground next to her and leaned on it. "Kill it. What else?"

"A little violent, aren't you?"

"Funny you should ask, since you thought a _sword_ would be a good way to lead me here."

"It worked, didn't it?"

Ren sighed. "Yes yes. So then, what is it you want from me?"

"Merely your presence at an audience…no, let's call it an interview."

"I'm _here_. Interview away." Ren tried not to sound too exasperated, but really, it was getting to be a long day for this sort of thing. Larc sounded like someone trying to talk above his level, if that made any sense. Strained and uncomfortable.

Larc shook his head. "I'm not the one you need to talk to. I'm just a messenger. My master hears you're something of a fighter. He needs some monsters exterminated. In exchange, he offers information that would be…of use to you."

"Monsters." Ren looked him up and down. There was a nasty looking axe slung over his back, coupled with plenty of muscle. "Something _you_ can't take care of?"

"Not alone."

"Hmm." Ren tapped her fingers against the sword next to her. "This was an awfully roundabout way to hire a bounty hunter, don't you think?"

"My master was interested in you specifically. He says you have…exactly what we need."

"Bad taste in weaponry?" The dog guy was obviously trying to be dramatic, and Ren wasn't having any of it. No one who lured her in with a sword like that deserved drama.

"No." Larc didn't rise to the bait. "That sword is a vessel to identify you. If you bring it before my master, he will know you are who you are."

"Oh? Who does he say I am?" Ren frowned.

"You'll have to ask him."

"Goddess, but you're annoying. So why does it have to look like _that?_"

"To keep it from being appealing to anyone else, obviously." Larc snorted. "So. Will you come with me, or not?"

"If I say no, will you fight me? I've been dying for a fight lately."

"You're not going to refuse. No one would ask a stupid question like that if they were going to say no."

"Don't count on it. I ask stupid questions _all the time_." Ren sighed and kicked the sword thoughtfully until it fell over. "I don't like this. You're up to something. I can sense it." For split second, Larc looked startled, which was all the proof she needed. "One doesn't have to be a Jumi to tell when someone's lying."

Larc recovered quickly. "I'm not lying to you," he said calmly.

"Possibly not, but there's something you're not saying." Ren picked up the sword and looked at him expectantly. "Tell it _all_, or I'll beat it out of you with your own stupid sword."

"Will you now." Larc raised an eyebrow. "With that thing?"

"Got two more for backup if it breaks." Ren shrugged. "What are you hiding?"

Larc stayed impassive for a moment, then nodded. "All right. I suppose it was stupid to expect you to agree to anything without some information." He turned and looked up at the crypt behind him, drawing Ren's eyes to it.

The black marble structure stood taller than anything else in the graveyard, liberally carved with wings and limbs and faces that at one point might have been separate creatures, but were weathered by time into a near-continuous mass. Any letters that might have been carved into it were long gone, making the once-expensive structure into a nameless grave.

"My master," Larc said at length. "Waits in the Underworld."

"_The Underworld?_" Ren jerked her eyes away from the tomb and stared at him.

"So you see why he cannot come meet you, or take care of the monsters himself," Larc explained, still not looking at her.

"I suppose that could be difficult if he's _dead._"

"Yes." Larc didn't comment further. "So, will you come?"

Ren's mind revolted against the thought. This still sparked of a conspiracy, and entering the Underworld under these conditions seemed about as smart as doing it on a dare. Still, it was intriguing, to say the least. "How do I get in?"

"Touch the stone here, and say the keyword, 'venaxis'."

"What language is that?"

"One that isn't spoken anymore. Does it matter?"

"Not really, just curious."

"Of all the things to be curious about, you pick that one?" Larc looked completely baffled now.

"Well, there is one other slight problem." Ren stepped forward, dragging the sword behind her, but didn't actually touch the stone. "Such as, is there any way _back?_"

"Yes," Larc stated, a little too firmly. "There is." Ren watched him through narrowed eyes for a moment, then turned back to the tombstone.

"Hmm," she said, but that was all the thought she felt like giving it. Too much reflection and she might change her mind, and that would be embarrassing. _Hey El, I had this chance to find out about the mana sword, but uh, the graveyard was a little creepy so I chickened out instead._ Yeah, that would go over well.

Reaching out, she laid her hand against the cold stone. "Venaxis," she whispered, half hoping it wouldn't work, but the word sprang from her lips like it had been waiting all along, and the world dissolved around her.

* * *

When things came back into focus, Ren found herself staring at rough rock walls, lit by an eerie red light that seemed to come from nowhere at all. The floor was black and possibly shiny, though trying to focus on it gave her a headache. The atmosphere was still and oppressively hot, but dry. There was a soft hiss of air being displaced, and Larc appeared a few feet away.

"Welcome to the Underworld," he said without flourish, and turned towards the only tunnel leading out of the room.

"What a boring, nasty sort of place. Do you live here?" Ren asked, deliberately calm.

Larc looked back at her, startled. It was obvious he was still trying to play it cool and disinterested, but he wasn't very good at it. "Sort of," he managed, and kept walking.

"Sort of?" Ren pressed on as she followed him. She'd gotten used to breaking through Elazul's attitude, and Larc wasn't nearly as good at it. "Like, what, a summer home?"

"You do realize this is the _Underworld_," he said tightly.

Ren looked at the walls, the floor, the ceiling. "Yes, so?"

"So people who are here are _dead_."

Obviously that was a hint to shut up, but Ren wasn't about to take it. This place needed some noise, the silence was unnerving. "_I'm_ not dead," she continued. "So I didn't think it would be very hmm, _polite_ to assume you were. Besides, you don't _look_ dead."

Larc stopped. He waited for a moment, possibly collecting his thoughts, then turned. "Doesn't any of this bother you?"

"Any of what?" Ren dropped the point of the sword to the ground and leaned on it again. "We haven't exactly seen much yet, have we? Get a move on, this thing is heavy."

Larc shut his jaw with a snap and turned huffily back down the tunnel. "In good time. First we must see Olbohn. One cannot pass through the flames without permission."

"Flames?" Ren asked, a little warily, but Larc didn't answer.

They passed through tunnel after tunnel of reddish stone and faint light. Here and there path branched off, leading to more tunnels, and even more frequently doors opened into shadowy rooms occupied by even more shadowy figures. Every time Ren tried to peer into one though, Larc cleared his throat loudly and she had to run to catch up. The whole time, she kept feeling like something was watching her from behind, following so close she could feel it breathing on her neck, but when she turned, there was nothing there.

"Hurry up already!" Larc snapped, waiting for her impatiently as she lagged behind. "What are you looking for?"

"Isn't there anyone else down here?" Ren asked, drawing up next to him. Larc shrugged.

"Spirits. Specters. Shadoles." He shot a pointed glare over her shoulder, and Ren thought she heard a high pitched cackle and felt the slight breeze of something whisking itself away. She didn't bother looking after it.

"Right. So…all alliteration aside…where are we going?"

"I just told you! To see Olbohn!"

"Oh. Did you?" Ren stared blankly at the air in front of her for a bit. "Well. How much farther, then?"

Larc sighed loudly and turned down a short tunnel. "Right here." He pushed open heavy looking iron door and stepped into the room beyond.

The light within seemed both brighter and darker somehow, lighting the single occupant from all sides, casting no shadows. "Lord Olbohn," Larc announced, with the slightest hint of a bow. "I have come with a request."

Olbohn looked something like an onion and something like a spider. At least, that was the best analogy Ren could come up with; completely ridiculous and yet utterly frightening at the same time. He watched her with blank eyes, then turned to Larc. "What is Drakonis playing at now?"

"You haven't seemed to care, all this time," Larc said. "Why start now? We are simply here to see about entrance to the Flames."

"I care not," Olbohn twitched one of his myriad hands towards the door noncommittally. "As you've pointed out. Do what you wish." A small floating being popped into visibility next to him. It was white and purple striped, with a huge fake grin painted onto its face. If there was an actual mouth somewhere under it, Ren couldn't tell.

"Oooooooooh!" The thing cooed happily at her. "I liiiiiiike yoooou! Come to the fiiiiire! We can plaaaaaay there!"

"Shadoles," Larc grumbled disgustedly.

"Enough," Olbohn said quietly, to the apparent Shadole. "Escort them to the Baptismal Chamber. Having them trudging my halls disturbs the peace."

"Yes. I'd hate to disturb anything _dead_," Ren muttered. Olbohn turned towards her again.

"Would you now."

"Er…" Ren was saved from having to reply by the world fizzling out around her once again.

* * *

When it resolidified, she hardly noticed a difference. There were the same red walls, the same nasty floor, the same uncommunicative Larc and the same stupid looking Shadole. "And the point of that was?"

"Thiiiiiiis waaaaay!" The Shadole sang, voice rising and falling and never hitting what could be considered an actual note as it receded down the hall. Larc took off after it, still griping under his breath, and Ren followed, hauling the sword along and wondering if you could kill a denizen of the Underworld.

They emerged from the tunnel into a largish room whose only remarkable feature was a huge basin set into the floor, something like a pond. If a pond could be envisioned full of flickering fire instead of water. Ren stepped to the edge and peered into the depths, but saw nothing but more flames. Oddly enough, there was no heat radiating from the basin, though she didn't fancy sticking her hand in to see if it burned.

"Er….do I have to jump in that?" she asked, looking up at Larc.

"No. You'd die. We can't have that." The dog-man walked around the basin to where the Shadole was spinning in happy little circles. He waited patiently until it noticed him.

"Oh!" it exclaimed. "That's riiiight! You wanted a baptissssssm!"

"Not for me," Larc growled. "But you know that perfectly well. Stop messing around."

"Yooou're no fffffunnnn." The Shadole pouted, but zipped towards the basin anyway, disappearing among the flames. A few minutes later, it reappeared, shaking itself and scattering bits of fire everywhere. Speeding over to Ren, it held out a small glass vial, glowing slightly. "Hhhere."

Ren took the vial; it was a little warm, but not terribly so. "What do I do with it?"

"Driiiink!"

Ren looked at it suspiciously. "Why?"

"Tastes greeeaaaat!" The Shadole burbled.

"How would you know? Do you even have a mouth under all that?"

"We don't neeeed mouuuuuuths…." it started, bobbing up and down.

"Don't get involved in a _philosophical conversation_ with it, for sanity's sake!" Larc hurried over, shooing the Shadole out of his way. "We can't progress any further until you drink the thing, so let's go."

"Uh huh. You seem awfully insistent all of a sudden."

Larc gave a rather forced sort of smile. It showed a lot of teeth and wasn't particularly nice. "I just don't like Shadoles. They drive me up the wall."

"Hmm." Ren looked at the vial in her hand for a while. "I guess I can't just run away now, can I?"

"It would look pretty pathetic," Larc said helpfully. Ren sighed.

"Thanks," she muttered and tipped the vial up, draining it. As it slid down her throat it heated up quite quickly, burning its way to her stomach and setting off a coughing fit. "You could have warned me!" she choked out.

"Sorry." Larc's voice came from nearby. "But it only gets worse from here." Something struck her from behind, sending her stumbling over the edge of the basin and into the flames beyond.

* * *

"Whheeeeeee!" A sort of cheer woke her up, going around and around, fading in and out as it circled her. Ren opened her eyes, and saw nothing but red in all directions. She seemed to be floating in the middle of an endless fire. The flames licked and burned at her skin, and while it hurt, the pain seemed somewhere else, somewhere very far away.

_How did I get here? Why am I here? Where…_

"Oooooh, helllo!" A pink and blue striped thing bobbed among the flames in front of her. "Thanks for coooommmming! I was loooonely! I'm booorrrred. Play with meeeee!"

"Go away." Ren tried to put her hands to her head, but her arms refused to move. "I'm trying to think."

"Don't booootttthher," it said, spinning slowly upside down. "It won't do any goooood."

"Shut up already, my head hurts!" With a huge amount of effort, she swung at the thing, but it was like pushing through molasses, and it darted easily away.

"Awwwwww," it whined. "Booooorrrrring."

Ren turned her head slowly left and right, seeing nothing interesting, except….there. Inching her way around, she managed to turn all the way towards it. Hovering among the flames was a sword, point downward. A bit of glitter drifting off of it was what caught her eye, and as she watched, more and more flaked off, drifting past her into the fire beyond.

A soft glow broke through the thinning plaster; feathers and paint melting away under the heat of the flames, until with a flurry of loud crackles and a hissing pop, the casing exploded away entirely. The new blade hung in the air before her, gleaming in the firelight. A slim, single-edged blade with a wicked looking hook on the end, the hilt wrapped in black and topped with a deep red gem that pulsed faintly with a light all its own.

"Shiny!" exclaimed the pink thing, zooming up to the sword. "I liiiiike it! Needs more feeeaaathers though."

"Get away from that!" Ren hissed between her teeth. "It's _mine!_"

"Is it?" The creature hovered in front of her eyes. "Is your naaaaaaame on it?"

"Leave me alone!" She tried to push it away, but only succeeded in setting herself drifting slowly. She watched the sword start to recede with despair. She wasn't sure why she needed that blade, she just did.

"Where are you gooooing?" her companion whistled sadly, trailing after. "Come baaaack!"

"Fine!" Straining every muscle she could use, Ren reached out and grabbed the creature around the middle. Swinging it around, she pushed away from it, sending it flying away, and herself drifting back, towards the sword. Reaching towards it, inch by inch it came closer, until her fingers closed around the hilt.

There was a blinding flash and suddenly the flames around her were real, loud and furious at having been held off for so long. Pain rushed in to fill the void as the air became suddenly thin, and she dropped downwards like a stone.

Breath torn away by the burning air, Ren didn't even have time to scream before she struck a stone surface, hard. She simply lay there, willing breath back into her lungs bit by bit. The fire was gone, and so was the light. The area was not completely dark, but black enough that surrounding objects were only shadows.

"Welcome," said a voice from nowhere. A soft, dry voice with an odd sort of rasp, as if someone had been breathing ash for too long. There was a rush of wind and the lights came back on all at once, flames leaping up from what seemed to be a red river running through the middle of the now-visible cavern.

"Very…dramatic." Ren pushed herself upright, using the sword for balance. Her limbs felt over-used and tired, she could feel them quiver in protest. "Where are you?"

A figure stepped through the flames and approached. A man, not terribly tall, but with an almost tangible aura of respect that made height irrelevant. The long sleeves of his red robes fluttered behind him and stilled as he stopped before Ren. For a long time he simply looked at her, then he smiled, a slow, feral sort of smile. "We meet again."

"Do I…know you?" Ren wished she could summon up something impressive to say, to match the surroundings, but her mind felt clouded, darkening, bit by bit.

"Yes, but I am not surprised you have forgotten, after such a long time. Far too long," he continued quietly. "I am Drakonis, known as the dragon of fire. This is my dragoon." He gestured at the person who had come up behind him at some point. "Come greet our guest, Larc."

The dog-man's eyes narrowed at her over Drakonis' shoulder, then he turned suddenly and made to walk off between the stones.

"Is something bothering you, Larc?" Drakonis called after him, but the dragoon didn't turn.

"I'm just a little…tired. From today's excursion. I'm going to rest." Larc disappeared around a pillar and did not return.

"Indeed." Drakonis turned back to Ren, the grin widening slightly. "Do not mind him. Journeying to the upper world is tiring. Besides, we have much to discuss."

"What are we discussing?" Ren asked, trying her hardest to focus, but things kept trying to slide away somewhere.

"Well, nothing, like this. It will be pointless to explain unless you can remember. It makes me so very sad to see you like this." Drakonis moved a little to the side, as if to regard her from a different angle. "After everything you were, everything we accomplished…together. I was delighted to find out you were still alive, my dear."

_Don't listen to him!_ A voice screamed suddenly in her head, frantic and desperate, as if it had been trying for a long time. _Stop…_

"That is why I brought you here," Drakonis continued calmly. Nearby, a hazy shape shimmered in front of the flames, a black, winged object with a gleaming red eye in the center. The strange voice was abruptly silenced. "To help you remember. That sword, it is a gift. A gift from the past. It is filled with your memories, and mine."

"This?" Ren lifted the blade hesitantly.

"Yes. I must apologize for its previous…condition. I'm afraid I let the Shadoles design it. I could not think of any other way to bring you here. I did not want to frighten you. A sword like that...kept you off guard. Kept you from thinking too hard, taking it too seriously. A perfect ruse."

"Ruse?" Ren took a step backwards and nearly fell over.

"Ah, don't take it like that." Drakonis slid forward and caught her arm, steadying her. "Perhaps it was a bad choice of words, but here, we'll get nowhere like this." Guiding her to a nearby stone, he helped her sit down. Wrapping his hands around hers on the hilt of the sword, he lifted it between them. "Look. All the answers, lie here."

"Answers…" Ren felt a little silly, but she couldn't help looking into the red stone…

* * *

_She stood in the rapidly darkening woods, weapons drawn against the shadows she could see creeping in, crawling over the broken trees and plants crushed by the green dragon's fall. The creatures hissed and chattered to each other as they advanced._

_Stumbling backwards over the corpses of already slain monsters, she halted as she heard voices, human voices from behind. Had she fallen so close to the sorceress' front lines? She'd never break through if the mages caught up to her, not like this._

_A monster hissed, leapt at her from the front, and she caught it in midair with her blades, sending it flying back, screaming in pain. The noise triggered a rush from behind her, and a trio of mages burst into the clearing._

_"Where is the dragon?" one cried, looking around quickly._

_"Dead! Must be! We saw him fall."_

_"But where?" The first scanned the clearing, as if a dragon's corpse could be hidden somewhere in it._

_"Nevermind. He's gone and that's all the matters." The second mage spun towards the clearing's other occupant as she made a break for the tree line. A stream of lightning burst from his fingertips and scored the ground next to her, knocking her aside._

_Rolling to her feet, she threw herself forward, not towards her assailant, but at the first speaker, the hesitant one. He went down without a cry, and she ran on past him._

_No such luck. Behind the mages, a squadron of soldiers was rapidly approaching. Catching sight of her, they let out a shout and charged. Spinning, she fled back the other way, but the monsters had closed the gap, and there was nowhere else to turn._

_"Give it up, girl." The third mage broke silence at last. "Without your dragon, you're nothing."_

_"Am I?" She raised her swords defiantly. "Come and see."_

_To her credit, the mage hesitated, and the others behind him, too, but she knew it could not last. It would be too much to ask that she'd survived the fall from the sky completely unscathed, and she could feel herself weakening by the minute._

_The monsters suffered from no such qualms though, and charged as one, probably on command from the second mage. The girl knew she couldn't win, but she fought back anyway, scattering dead in all directions. One latched on to her arm, and the hooked sword went flying before she shook the monster free. _

_She tried to leap towards the mage, hoping to kill the source of command, but her legs gave way underneath her and she fell heavily to the ground. Rolling over, she found the mage standing above her, hands raised to summon death in concentrated magic form._

_Just as the spell began to flash, though, the mage's face contorted and he crumpled to the ground. A young man stood over the body, garbed in red, holding the sword she had dropped before. As the girl watched, he raised his other hand, and flames sprang forth, enveloping soldiers and monsters alike._

_"Come!" he said, pulling her to her feet. "Quickly!" Together, they ran into the woods, fireballs tossed in their wake to dissuade the pursuit._

_"Here," her rescuer said, as they finally stopped for breath, the clearing far behind. "Your sword." He held out the blade, hilt first. The jewel on the pommel gleamed in the moonlight, green in the dark between the trees._

_"No, you keep it. In case they catch up again. I can hardly handle one…just now…" She tried to keep walking, but tripped over a stone and fell again; the young man barely catching her in time._

_"Rest. They won't find us. I will deal with them if they do."_

_"Who are you?"_

_"I will tell you when you wake…"_

* * *

_Listen! Listen! Please! _Voices cried in unison, but not loud enough. They faded and then shattered, scattering in all directions until none could be heard, much less understood.

_Fools,_ whispered the last one remaining. _You let her into _my_ realm. You have no claim here. Begone!_

The light faded amid a cacophony of cries that were cut off, silence descending as the firelight returned. A different voice echoed in the cavern, but it was hard to tell where it was coming from.

"Do you remember now?" Drakonis whispered. "I saved you…we were good friends once, you and I. Always, always you looked for a way to repay that debt. Now, I offer you a chance. Fight for me, go where I cannot. Become my vengeance in human form, and slay those that betrayed me. Come, are you with me?"

Ren tried to speak, but no sound came. She thought she heard a voice, but it seemed to be someone else's, beyond her control. She wrestled to grasp it, but it wriggled away like a fish, leaving her with nothing, sinking rapidly into the endless ocean.


	22. Equal Exchange

* * *

22 – Equal Exchange

* * *

"_What are you looking so depressed about?_" Viridian asked as soon as Ren disappeared down the road.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to," Elazul replied without looking at him. "It makes you sound stupid."

"_I was trying to do you a favor._"

"Yeah, sure you were."

"_You don't believe me._"

"Of course I don't. Nor do you expect me to. Just admit that, and go ruin someone else's day for a change."

"_Oh? Did I interrupt something, then?_"

"Go away."

"_I live here. You go away._" The dragon settled down, digging his claws into the grass as if he actually expected the Jumi to try to shove him or something.

"Fine. We'll see who gets bored first." Elazul continued staring at the road. A light breeze rustled the trees on either side, and from within the house, the sounds of the twins having an argument could be heard; muffled enough to be familiar background noise and not outright annoying. He was just starting to analyze recent events a bit more closely when the dragon spoke up again.

"_So why _are_ you still here?_" he whined, almost plaintively. "_I was certain you'd leave after all that strangeness before._"

"I changed my mind," Elazul said simply, and went back to ignoring him. Viridian wasn't going to give up this time, though.

"_Why? Decided your first charity case was too much after all,_" Viridian flicked his tail at the house where Pearl was. "_So you decided to pick up a new one? In case it goes better?_"

Elazul turned to stare at the dragon. Apparently he'd decided to give up on banter and go for a full-frontal assault. "Pearl isn't a _project_," he hissed angrily. "And neither is Ren! I'm trying…I want to help her."

"_Oh? And what exactly have you done so far? She runs herself near to death looking for ways to help_ you_, and you just seem to lie around and take it like it's your _due_ for having a crappy life up 'til now._"

That hit a little close for comfort, but he'd be damned before he let the dragon know that. "That's exactly why I can't leave. I have to find a way to repay her for everything she's done."

"_The only thing you'll ever repay her with is more problems_," The dragon snapped out, then shot into the air in a flurry of severed grass blades, with the finality of someone who doesn't want to leave you a chance to retort.

"Goddess, I hate him," Elazul told the clouds, flopping back to lie on the lawn. The worst thing about it was, the dragon was probably right. He should have left, or at least, done a better job of leaving the first time.

Now, however, he couldn't leave. Not after the tower. Viridian didn't know how utterly ironic he had been, bringing that strange weapon to them.

He knew who could tell him about the real Sword of Mana.

If only she'd remember.

If…but what if it wasn't that simple? He doubted it was. Perhaps it would be best to leave things as they were. Some memories were best forgotten, and even if they weren't, who was to say it wasn't impossible to restore them anyway? Should he really still be chasing that tenuous dream? If he gave up on the dream, would he still have an excuse to stay? Did he _need_ an excuse? Would it be selfish to stay simply because he wanted to? Because it was nice to have someplace to belong?

_You think too much, El. Just get out and do something!_

Okay, she was right, but…what to do?

_Don't you leave her_, Jennifer had said. _You're the only thing she has in this world. There are others here for her, but you're the one she sees, the one she remembers and relies on. I know it's dangerous and you're afraid, but don't run._

On the other hand, there was Viridian, and though Elazul wasn't exactly _afraid_ of him, per se, he wasn't quite sure what he'd do if the dragon decided to stop flinging words and started flinging fire instead.

Which made more sense? Did sense even come into it?

_Don't you dare leave her again._

_You'll only cause more problems._

_She needs you._

_Go away._

_Stay._

The sound of someone approaching startled him into alertness. Elazul wondered irritably if it was one of those sproutlings, and began weighing the pros and cons of spending the effort to swat it when it got close enough.

"Elazul."

He opened his eyes to find Pearl leaning over him. Not, then, a sproutling. "What?"

"Ren's not back yet."

"So?"

"I'm getting worried."

"Why? She hasn't been gone that…"he looked at the sky behind Pearl's head. The sun was suspiciously close to disappearing behind the trees. "Did I fall asleep?"

"I guess so." Pearl shrugged. "You've been out here for ages."

Elazul groaned and pushed himself onto one elbow. Now that she mentioned it, his head did have that fuzzy sort of feeling that came from too long a nap in the middle of the day. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I thought you might need the rest…" Pearl looked concerned.

"I'm _fine_. Don't start that again."

"I wasn't!" Pearl held up her hands defensively. "I just…I want to know she's all right. You know how she's been lately…"

Yes, he did, but that didn't necessarily mean it always had to be a worst case scenario. "She probably just got stuck talking to Jennifer, or decided to help some merchant paint his roof. For all I know, she's still arguing with Niccolo, goddess knows _that_ could take all day. There's a thousand things she could be doing." Covering his eyes with his arm, Elazul lay back again and tried to retrieve the internal argument he'd been having before.

Yeah. Right. Like it would make any more sense _now_.

He sat up all at once, sighing loudly. "What brought this on, anyway? Has she said something odd to you?"

"No, but…"

"Ren _can_ take care of herself you know…" he stopped. _Can she, really? You like to think she can, but…_

"I know, but…Elazul?" Pearl had noticed him staring off into space.

"Hmm, yes?" He blinked and looked back at her. "It's nothing. Everything's fine. I'm sure she'll be back soon."

Pearl knew perfectly well he was lying, and he knew that she knew it. She waited, looking like she very much wanted to argue it further, but she didn't. She never did. She just stood there, hoping for him to do something, her core whispering a sad, anxious song. Not really directed at him, but at the world in general.

The problem with that song, Elazul thought, was that if you listened to it long enough, it wormed its way into your own core like a parasite, gnawing away at the vibrations until they matched.

"Don't you…" Pearl spoke up again, hesitant. "Don't you _worry_ about her?"

"Of course I do, but…"

"Then go find her!" Pearl interrupted, causing him to look at her in utter shock. His guardian chewed on her lip for a minute, then rushed on. "The way she's looked lately, walking around in a daze….it reminds me of myself." Each syllable was punctuated by an increasingly high note from her core, a sure indicator of doubt, but her eyes met his with a fierceness he'd never seen before. "And every time I wander off like that, something horrible happens!"

"Pearl," Elazul tried to calm her. "She didn't wander off, she just went into town for a bit. It's not the same…"

"But it _is_," she said forcefully. "I can feel it. Something terrible is going to happen, and you have to stop it. I can't, I can't ever do anything…but you can. Go after her! _Please_, Elazul!"

There wasn't anything he could do to argue with that tone. "All right. If it will make you feel better." He stood up, brushing grass blades off his clothes. "But if I find her stalling in the blacksmith or something, you're seriously going to owe me one." He smiled at her, trying to lighten the mood, but she simply stared anxiously back. Elazul sighed again. "Just stay inside. Stay with the twins, or Viridian if you must…just don't go anywhere."

"Where would I…"

"Promise me!"

"I promise! I'll lock myself in if I have to!" Pearl backed hurriedly towards the house. "Please don't worry about me for once!"

"I have to worry about someone!" Elazul called back as he started for the path. "And you're the only one who puts up with it!"

"Be careful," Pearl said quietly, just like she always did, as if he was going to trip over a rock on the road to Domina and break a leg or something.

The tone of her core had calmed already, though. Elazul listened to it fade behind him as he turned the bend. Just knowing he was going to check was apparently all she needed, and an easy walk into town really wasn't much of a price to pay for making someone happy.

Why, then, did he persist in feeling so irritated about it?

Elazul slowed his pace, frowning at the ground in front of him. There really was no deluding himself on that front. It wasn't Pearl he was annoyed at, or the idea of walking into town just before sunset.

_No, face it_, he told himself harshly. _It's because you just let the perfect opportunity to get it off your chest drift right past you. You could have told her, but no, you let her just up and walk away._

'Her' meaning Ren, of course, not Pearl.

It was ever since that second visit to Leires. Ever since he'd tried to pull Ren from that damned cursed mirror and the room had dissolved into light around him. A light full of pictures, brief and flickering like a dying candle. A green dragon, a red one, a white. A huge tree, a village, a barrier. A sword, so utterly familiar, though he knew he'd never seen it before. A sword that shone like the sun, and the person wielding it…

_There was a tree, branches invisible beneath an all encompassing canopy of leaves that melted and merged into the moss carpeting the trunk, all the way down to the ground, where a few twisting roots anchored it to the earth. A shimmering barrier surrounded it, turning the green to gold and the brown to bronze._

_The barrier flashed, and the pulse was answered from a sword, held by a girl with blonde hair and a look of determination so sharp it could cut through armies, and so it did. Armies that flowed back and forth over the land around the tree, advancing and retreating like a wave, individuals indistinct, unimportant, all with one goal; to reach the tree._

_To no avail, the tree stood strong, and silent, behind the shining barrier. The sword told its message with light, the messenger carried on the back of a green dragon with eyes of gold…_

_…and fell into darkness, disappeared, the forest closing around it like a grave. A blood red dragon laughed, and a harsh wind blew, ruffling the leaves on the tree as it called, crying out, but no one answered._

_A spark, at the base of the tree. The sword returning, answering. The barrier split and let it through. The tree cried out, gladly, and then was silenced. There was a flash. Red flames caught in the moss and traveled quickly around the trunk, moving upward to the leaves and down to the roots. The barrier flickered madly and then shattered, struck from the inside, blowing outward like tiny shards of glass._

Armies, faeries, humans, monsters…blood, death, flying, life, destruction, falling, rebirth, hope…all mashed together like leftovers from a twelve-course meal, and everywhere, _everywhere,_ fire, flames, always goddess-be-damned _flames…_

A sharp pain from his core told him that was enough. The frantic whine sang through his ears like a string about to break. _Calm down, calm down, calm down!_ he told himself silently, but yelling at yourself to be calm never really has the desired effect.

Elazul tried to listen to the wind, the whisper of the leaves as it passed. There was a rhythm in that, and he forced himself to breathe in time with it, until his pulse slowed to match and the road came back into focus.

He found himself standing perfectly still, staring at the bark of a nearby tree. He hissed quietly. Lucky there was no one else on the road right now, that might have been embarrassing. Carefully, he reached out, searching for Pearl. She was still back at Ren's place and the level beat from her core, faint as it was, said she hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Thank the goddess for small miracles. Elazul started walking again, snatching a leaf off a sapling and tearing it into methodical strips as he went. It provided thirty seconds distraction, give or take a few, before he tossed the handful of green behind him and sighed.

Would it never go _away? _He envied Ren, to be honest. One minute her eyes would be full of an inexpressible fear, a pained memory, a terror barely contained, and then it would be gone, sliding off to the side, never to be glanced at again.

But, no, _he_ couldn't forget, the damned things just stayed and stayed and _stayed._ Someone else's memories. Elazul shook his head. He should have smashed that crystal the first time they'd climbed the tower.

Most likely it had been aimed at Ren, but to be honest, a memory trying to anchor itself in Ren's mind probably stood as much chance as a minnow in the open ocean. So, it stood to reason it simply latched on to the next available being. It wasn't significant or deliberate in any way.

Or so he liked to tell himself. If it had been some kind of message, he had a feeling they'd hit the wrong person, because he hadn't a clue what it was all about.

It had disturbed the hell out of him at the time, but he'd gotten pretty good at putting disturbing things aside over the years. Traveling from Gato, sitting around peaceful Domina, it had turned into almost a curiosity, like a really morbid painting that you just couldn't stop looking at for some reason.

Really, the thing to do, Elazul thought retrospectively, would have been to simply turn around and tell Ren what had happened the minute they'd left the mirror room…but he hadn't. She'd seemed so confused already, it didn't seem right to throw something else at her, just then, not after everything that had been going on. After that, well, somehow the moment had never been quite right.

Until today, and he'd let it go. Been distracted. Let himself be distracted.

Then again, maybe it was best to simply let it go.

* * *

Domina was eerily quiet as Elazul passed the first few houses. Or maybe it was just his imagination. Evening in a little town like this was usually not full of noise, but still…

"Elazul!"

Ah, right. If there was any noise-making to be done, it would be done first and foremost by Jennifer, town gossip. Elazul toyed with the idea of ducking behind a house and dodging around her, but stopped himself on the grounds that it would be one, contrary to his purpose in coming up here in the first place, and two, stupid.

"Hello," he said quickly, trying to fend off any torrents of information coming his way. "Have you seen Ren?" She stared at him like he'd just asked after the whereabouts of the goddess herself, and seemed utterly speechless. "Is that a strange question?" he inquired when she still didn't answer.

Jennifer shook her head. "No it's just…come with me." She turned and began to hurry back up the street, flapping her wings every few steps. Elazul followed. As they crested the hill, he saw a group of Domina residents clustered around something on the ground.

Shouldering his way past them, Elazul spied a sproutling lying on the ground, being tended to by the innkeeper, Miss Yuka. There were leaves and…other bits scattered around, made almost more grotesque by the complete lack of blood. "I think it'll make it," the bird-woman said, looking up as Jennifer arrived. "Though, it's really hard to tell."

"I'm fine!" The sproutling chirped, leaping up and wobbling a few feet before falling on its face. "Oops!"

A couple of townsfolk helping it up again, and carried it to the inn door, Yuka fluttering along behind. Elazul watched them go, the looked back at the scattered leaves, trying to make some connection here. "What happened? Who did this?"

"Ren."

Some people led up to things slowly, to avoid confusion. Others threw information like rocks, quick and sharp from behind, leaving you to search for where it came from. "_What?_"

Pearl had been right. He really should learn to _listen _to her intuition after all this time. Still, this was… "Are we talking about the same person here? Ren? I mean, she finds sproutlings irritating, and I know she's got something of a temper, but…"

"Yes! I know it was her! I mean…unless she has a twin or something. Oh…" Jennifer covered her face with her hands. "After that business with Rachel, I don't know what to think. Has she been acting…strange lately or anything?" she asked, regaining her composure a bit.

"Strange?" Elazul thought about the past few days. "No more than usual. She seemed almost happy really. Content." He frowned at the street. "No, why analyze it? Obviously something's gone wrong…where is she now?"

"Ra…Rosemary chased her towards the mana park with some spells…"

As if on cue, the insect girl's clone came whirring up the path. "She's distracted by the fountain," she panted. "I don't know what else to do!"

"Tell me what happened!" Elazul stepped in front of Jennifer.

Rosemary bobbed anxiously in the air. "She came into town earlier, carrying some really strange sword and ranting about Niccolo. I pointed her towards the cemetery…"

"Why the cemetery?"

"Because she wanted to go there! I don't know why!" She landed on the ground, giving her wings a rest. "And then she came back and just went insane. She passed through the north half of town like a hurricane…tore the doors off the church, rotted all the fruit in Meimei's stall just by looking at it…and chased people around the market square like she was going to kill them until they ran inside. She was just staring at doors like she didn't know how to use them, then running off after something else! The sproutling wasn't fast enough, she attacked it like a hound after a rabite…and then just lost interest. I started throwing spells at her, but I'm really no good at attack magic…"

Elazul listened with a growing dread. _Goddess preserve us, she's finally lost it completely._ "Where did she go?" he cut off the girl's babbling account.

"I chased her into the mana park, but…I was afraid to follow her further."

"That's fine. Stay here." He brushed past her and headed for the park. There was a rustle behind him as Jennifer latched on to his sleeve.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, half frightened, half accusing.

_You think I know?_ "Whatever I have to!" he snapped out.

"Maybe you shouldn't…" she cautioned.

"First you want me to help and now you don't? Are _you_ going to handle it then? Let go!" He jerked him arm out of her grasp and ran towards the park.

It couldn't be. It absolutely couldn't be, he told himself as he went. Ren would never, never, hurt this town. _I've found a place here now, you know? My life is here now._ What could have changed in a couple of hours?

No, it had to be a mistake. It was someone else, some kind of imposter…

She was leaning against the fountain in the middle of the park, kicking one heel against it thoughtfully as she looked around at the trees like she'd never seen them before. It would have been a perfectly calm scene, if the statue behind her hadn't been shattered into tiny pieces, scattered all around the base of the pool. Water trickled out of multiple fissures in the basin and seeped into the earth below.

"Ren," he called, stepping forward, his boots kicking bits of stone aside. She didn't look at him for a moment, and when she did, it was in surprise.

"Hi there!" she exclaimed happily, and then went back to watching the trees. Then she did a double take. Stepping lightly away from the fountain, she ran towards him, stopping inches away and staring into his eyes with a directness that was almost tangible.

"Fancy meeting you here, El," she said, then looked down and away, almost coy. "Were you…worried about me?"

There was something in the way the light played over her features that wasn't quite right. It nagged at the back of his mind and he stalled, trying to figure it out. "What were you doing here?" he asked, trying to sound normal.

"Here?" Ren looked around, her eyes passing over the fountain aimlessly. "Redecorating. This place is utterly boring." She shrugged and looked back. "But now that you're here, we'll have some fun, won't we?"

She reached out, but as her fingertips brushed his arm, his core screamed a warning. _Truth_, it said, but not in words. Elazul leapt back, raising his hand instinctively to protect that window to his soul.

"What?" She looked hurt. "Don't you like me anymore?"

_Not like this…_and there it was again, a certain angle, a stray beam of light and her eyes looked _black._ A quick shadow passing over the green. "You're not Ren."

"No?" she glanced around like he might be talking to someone else entirely. "Are you sure?"

Elazul continued to back away. Now that he'd latched onto it, the feeling of something _wrong_ was growing around him. He could sense it in the air, a kind of dark aura, emanating from the person in front of him. "Positive."

"Awww…" It was a sort of whine, and almost musical sound. "That takes half the fun out of it!" She stepped forward again, raising one hand. Elazul nearly stumbled in an effort to dodge, but nothing happened. She burst out laughing, high pitched hysterical peals that ricocheted off invisible walls. For a minute her skin rippled, black waves that disfigured and replaced.

"Got you!" The thing spread its arms wide, and familiar twin blades appeared in its hands. "I wouldn't bother with something like _that,_" it trilled. "I want to try this the human way!" The whole figure flickered and suddenly she was back, hair sticks and all, looking at him with that taunting half-smile Ren always wore when she was about say something facetious.

In that instant, Elazul hated it. In a way he never thought he'd apply to someone who wasn't, say, Sandra.

"Can you fight me?" the fake Ren said, tilting its head happily. Elazul took another step back and drew his sword, not trusting himself to say anything.

"I guess that answers that question, but," it grinned even broader and sprang. Elazul blocked the blow, but his opponent locked one blade with his and leaned forward. "Can you win?"

He caught his breath, completely unintentionally. It was fast. Faster than Ren at her best. Faster than Sandra, faster than Lady Blackpearl, even. "What are you, really?" he gasped, angry at himself for sounding so panicked about it.

"A reflection of the past."

Elazul shoved it away, backed up further, stalling, trying to think of a strategy. "And your purpose?"

"To break down souls until they fall screaming to the underworld."

Well, that sounded lovely. Elazul tightened his grip on his sword and forced his voice to remain calm. "Where is Ren?"

"Ren?" The thing seemed to actually think about it. "I know no Ren."

"Don't play stupid games with me!" he snapped. "Where is she?"

"Oooh, that gives me an idea! We'll play a game. You defeat me and I'll tell you. Though," it winked conspiratorially, "I feel obligated to tell you that you lose either way."

"Just…" Elazul gritted his teeth and tried to take it off guard. "Shut up!" He threw himself forward and to the side, bringing his sword around to catch it from behind. It spun…the wrong way. The blade sank deeply into its side. He followed it with a second cut, but it completed its circuit and parried the strike.

Elazul let himself slide down the length of its blade to the hilt and shoved the thing forward. It stumbled, then spun again, almost like a dancer, and stabbed towards him with both swords. He knocked one aside, but it came back much too fast and he was forced to retreat again to keep it at bay.

No, not a dancer, he clarified as he launched another attack, scanning its defense for weaknesses. A jester. A fool. The monster was _fast,_ but there was no _order_, no rhythm. It constantly blocked with the wrong hand, turned the wrong direction, backed up when it should press forward.

This was not a thing that knew how to fight. It was playing, some kind of malevolent intellect that had found a new toy, but didn't really know how to use it. Elazul hesitated. What if Ren really was in there…possessed by this thing…

The creature may have been uncoordinated, but it wasn't blind. It saw the opening even as Elazul realized he was giving it one. A sword flashed toward him, and he brought his arm up instinctively to protect his core. The blade struck stone and slid to the side, but Elazul dropped his sword into his other hand and snapped his wrist around to catch the descending one, twisting. He could feel the edge sharp against the palm of the crystallized hand as he wrenched the blade from its owner, but it did no damage.

Well. At least _something_ good had come out of that whole incident.

The monster hissed and jumped backwards, but before Elazul could make use of the fact, the sword in his hand seemed to melt, dissolving into black goo, which slid oily across the ground to meet up with its owner.

Elazul watched the liquefied weapon reform in his opponent's hand. That answered one question then. No possessed person could do _that_. "You know," he said. "If you're going to impersonate a human, you could at least play by the rules."

"Rules, rules…rules are for breaking. Like other things!" With a giggle, it whipped its other arm up, the sword melting into the hand and elongating like a tentacle. It lashed outwards, a ridiculous distance, and snapped around Elazul's arm before he could move. He felt it tighten, but it couldn't do much to the stone.

Wow. This thing was _stupid._

Elazul drew back and pulled. The creature stumbled, and Elazul yanked again, sending it sprawling on the stones. Bringing his sword around in a slightly clumsy left-handed swing, he sliced it in half at the waist.

The two halves lost shape almost immediately, writhing separately on the ground, with no more blood than the sproutling had shed. The grip on his arm tightened, still with no effect, and the creature's eyes opened wide.

"I hate your rules! I'm not playing anymore!" it hissed, and the whip like appendage rippled with and unknown forced that slammed into Elazul like a wave.

There was a flash of white light behind his eyes. It made him think of Pearl, the brilliant flash of her core in dark caves, but when his vision cleared, his guardian was nowhere to be found.

A voice spoke, frantic, a torrent of syllables with no meaning running through his mind like ice water. A second voice joined it, and a third, fading and returning and fading again. Then silence, broken by a screaming wail from nearby.

Elazul scrambled to his feet, not even sure when he'd fallen, but his opponent didn't notice. It was shrieking, clutching at an arm that was rapidly dissolving away.

Then it began to laugh. "That was fuuuunnnnnn!" It beamed, a completely unnatural grin spreading across its face. It no longer looked like Ren, in fact, Elazul didn't want to think too closely about what it looked like. He didn't want to see it at all, he wanted it dead, gone. Now.

White light flared along his sword and he took that as the goddess' blessing and charged the thing. It didn't bother to block. The blade whistled straight through it without resistance, and it shrieked again. Then the whole thing began to vibrate. The dark aura that had been only a faint annoyance before began to thicken, filling the area. Elazul stepped back briefly, then raised his sword again, trying to destroy it before it could release whatever magic it was charging.

There was another shout, but this time not from the monster. A white apparition shot forward from somewhere behind him and leapt straight over its head. There was a flash of sunlight on blades and suddenly two knives encircled the creature, driving deep into its body.

"Return to the underworld from whence you came!" she yelled, pulling on both knives, and the thing screamed, the sound echoing until it split into wisps of darkness that drifted away.

Elazul tensed, wondering if this newcomer was friend or foe. Gleaming from head to toe in white fur and silver armor, the woman was obviously of the dog clan, but a shining golden horn sprouting from her forehead said she was no ordinary canine.

"Who are you?" Elazul hissed, holding his sword between them.

"Are you _mad?_" The dog-woman snapped, ignoring the implied threat. "After it got a hold of you the first time, you actually charged in to repeat the process?"

"I had it under control!"

"Did you? Stop and think for a moment!"

Elazul started to reply heatedly, but no words came. Whatever battle-rage had dulled his senses faded as quickly as it had sprung, and a stabbing pain like something trying to drive a wedge into his chest raced in to take its place. He stumbled against the ruined fountain, struggling for breath.

The voices came back, babbling anxiously like old ladies at a deathbed. He tried to wave them off, but someone caught his arm and held it down. "Be still. I have very little mana to waste, and less to waste on fools."

There was a soft glow around her hand as she held it over him. The pressure lessened, but did not fade completely, and her brows drew together as she frowned. "Ah. Jumi," she said with a sigh, and stepped back. "All the more fool you. I did not think a Jumi could even come near something like that, much less fight it. It should be incompatible with their light. Unless…yes, a flaw in the core that somehow buffers the…"

Okay, being referred to in the third person was bad enough, but this was a little much. "I don't appreciate being analyzed in that tone," he snapped, shaking her off. "Who do you think you are?"

"I am Sierra, dragoon to the dragon Vadise," she introduced herself without flourish or even a change in expression. "That was a spirit of the Underworld, somehow allowed to roam the lands of the living."

"A spirit of the…" Elazul forced himself upright and away from the fountain. The Underworld operated, according to myth, on an equal exchange policy. Nothing rose from it without something else passing the other way. _She went to the cemetery. Why? Because she wanted to. _"Oh damn. Damn it all to…she _didn't_."

Sierra looked up from examining the stones where the monster had disappeared. "Who?" she asked, a slightly puzzled look on her face.

"A friend. Of all the…" He stopped, looking over her shoulder. "…is that thing dead?" Lying on the stones was a strange, small figure, almost like a doll.

Sierra stood up. "Yes," she said calmly, and didn't even blink when Elazul let out a string of expletives he'd picked up in some interesting places over the years.

"I _needed _it to tell me…" He trailed off, staring at the corpse angrily. It was vaguely human-shaped, with protrusions that were clearly arms and a round thing on top that might have been a head. It looked like a child's drawing of a person, colored with charcoal. Elazul's first instinct was to drop a really big rock on it, but before he could locate one, it leapt up with a squeak.

It spun in a tight circle and then darted away, nipping around the fountain before speeding up the path towards town. Elazul decided the dog-woman could wait, and took off after it.

Running through the streets, just keeping the fleeing black shape in sight, his eye was caught by a glint of white from above. Glancing up, he saw Sierra leaping lightly between rooftops, keeping pace. As he exited the north gate, she landed on the path next to him and continued ahead without pause.

The creature turned abruptly off the path and slid through a half-open gate. Elazul followed it, jumping over the tombstones that stood directly in his path, before cornering it in front of a tall monument. Sierra came from the side, charging the monster, but it seemed to step into the face of the tomb, and disappeared with a small flash of red light.

Sierra hissed between her teeth and ran to the monument. Holding her hands out to it, she murmured softly, words that were audible but unintelligible. Elazul waited, tense, but nothing happened. Finally she stopped chanting, and lowered her hands slowly, staring at the tomb's face in silence.

"Well?" Elazul asked, after letting the fuse on his patience burn down for a while.

"It is gone," she said simply, turning away from the stone at last. "It was weak, it will not return."

"And?"

"And what?" Sierra blinked.

"What about Ren?"

"Who is Ren?" The dragoon was obviously perplexed.

"My friend! The one who that thing looked like!"

Sierra's eyes widened, then she looked down and to each side a couple times, clearly thinking hard. "Your name, please," she requested, finally.

"What does that have to do with anything? I _asked_…" She continued to simply watch him, until he sighed. "Elazul."

"Elazul." Sierra nodded. "It is always good to know names. I will tell you what I know." She spoke in an even, clipped tone. It was strangely efficient, the voice of someone who never wasted an ounce of movement or energy, not even for inflection. "The Underworld has been breached, from within. I have a connection to the one who came through, and followed him here to investigate. Apparently I was too late. He has found his target and taken, or lured, her below. That monster came back in exchange, as you said." She fell silent.

"_And?_" Elazul asked, a little more forcefully this time.

"And what?" she repeated.

"That was an explanation, yes, but it told me absolutely nothing about how to get her _back_."

Sierra looked sad, briefly. "You cannot."

"_What?_"

"You cannot travel to the Underworld," she continued patiently. "Do not look so angry, most people cannot. As I said, this is my problem, and I am pursuing it. If I am successful, then perhaps your friend will return to you. Until then, you can only wait. I am sorry."

"Like hell I'm going to stand around and _wait_. You just told me that Ren's been taken to the _Underworld_ and now you tell me to just sit around and hope it turns out well? Let me tell you something…"

"_Elazul!_" A cry interrupted him. Speeding between the tombstones was a purple-haired child on a broom. She skidded to a halt in mid air and leapt off, leaning on the broom for support while she panted for air. "You have to come back. Hurry!"

"What's wrong?" Elazul figured he couldn't get any more confused at this point, why not add something else in to the mix?

"It's…it's Viridian. He's…there's something wrong with him." Lisa looked terrified. Elazul just barely stopped himself from coming back with 'why should I care?', as another thought began to take shape in his head. _Dragoons. Dragons._ His store of knowledge on that subject was limited, but…what if Ren and Viridian…

"What is wrong with him?" Elazul started towards the cemetery gate even as he asked.

"I don't know!" The girl wailed, running along behind. "Bud and Pearl are with him now, he's sick or something…please hurry!"

"Wait." Sierra's voice stopped them, quiet as it was.

"Yes?" Elazul turned, impatient.

"Did you say Viridian?" she directed the question at Lisa, who nodded frantically.

The dragoon closed her eyes for a moment. "Take me with you," she said softly. "This may be more complicated than we had thought."

* * *

The three of them circled the town, not wanting to confront the residents quite yet. At least the strange black thing wouldn't be bothering them anymore. Lisa rode her broom, hovering next to them as they hurried, until the treehouse came into view, and she shot ahead, circling the house.

Elazul and Sierra followed. Viridian was sprawled behind the tree. Nearby was a broken branch and a good amount of twigs and leaves scattered about, as if he'd crashed into the tree on landing. Deep claw marks raked the side of the trunk.

Bud, and now Lisa, were standing with Pearl near the dragon's head, but not, Elazul noted, too close.

"Elazul!" His guardian ran to meet him, her core sending rapid pulses in all directions. "I…I…."

"What happened?" He rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to communicate, relieve a little of that anxiety so she could speak straight.

"We were inside, Bud and Lisa and I…just talking…when we heard a crash from outside, and the whole house just shook…"

Bud hurried over. "We ran to look and saw Viri lying there, like he…fell or something. He tried to get into the air again but didn't make it and then he just started screaming…"

"It was awful," Lisa broke in, tears in her eyes. "I've never heard anything like it…he seems to have stopped now, though." She sounded slightly hopeful.

Viridian certainly wasn't making any noise now. He lay like something dead, only the slightest rise and fall of his ribs marking life. Elazul approached cautiously, and the dragon's eyes flew open, the golden orbs unfocused and dull.

"_You_," he hissed, catching sight of the Jumi. "_What did you do? What have you _done?"

Elazul stumbled backwards against the force of that accusation, and hit the wall of the twins' practice shed hard. "No…" That _thing_ could not actually have been…it couldn't have been…

It was like the bottom dropping out of the world. He heard Pearl gasp in dismay, one hand going to her core as it picked up the cry from his own, but it was drowned out by a ear splitting shriek from Viridian.

"_I'll kill you!_" The dragon lurched forward, but failed to get his legs under himself and collapsed halfway back to the ground. "_I'll…_"

"Stop it!" Sierra commanded, her voice loud and imperial. She stepped forward, pointing a finger at Viridian, and the dragon shrank backwards, a look of confusion in his eyes. Sierra turned quickly to Elazul. "You did no damage destroying that creature. Listen to me. It was not you."

Elazul barely had time to register those words before she spun back to the dragon. "It was not him," she repeated firmly. Viridian keened, a low, pained sound.

"_Then why? Why when he left and then…_" he gave up on the nonsensical words and just shook his head mutely, still emitting that irregular whine. "_Where is Ren? Where is she? I can't…I can't…_" He quieted finally. "_It wasn't him?_" he asked, this time sounding very much like his old self. Disappointed.

"No. The one behind this does it purposefully and with great enjoyment. Shouting accusations at _him_ will bring you nothing, so I suggest you get out of the habit."

"Who?" Elazul recovered his voice with a bit of difficulty. "Who is behind this?"

Sierra fell silent, her eyes looking off into some middle distance.

"Is Viri going to be all right?" Lisa spoke up, hesitantly, from where she had Bud had taken refuge against the trunk of the treehouse.

Sierra glanced at them and her gaze softened. "For now. The wrench has been completed. He should be stable. For now." Indeed, the dragon was getting slowly to his feet, peering along the length of his body as if looking for injury.

"Wrench?" Elazul stepped away from the wall.

"That is the best way I can describe it. The bond between dragon and dragoon has been…twisted, not severed."

"And? Do not," he added quickly, "for the life of you, say 'and what'. _Please._"

Sierra glanced at him, something almost like a smile gracing her face, ever so briefly. "Your…friend is in great danger. We are all in great danger. The one behind this is the dragon of flame, Drakonis, who seeks a return to life. His return can spell good for _no one._ He is collecting the weapons, the _tools_ needed for his rebirth. He now has one of them."

Elazul looked around, unsure what to make of that. His eyes fell on Pearl, standing a little behind him and to the left. "You were right," he said quietly to her, then walked a little ways away, tracing the outline of one of the claw marks in the tree, thinking. So Ren and Viridian were bonded somehow. It didn't take a huge stretch of the imagination to figure that out. Probably, knowing them both, unintentionally, but it didn't change the result. Something had happened to Ren. This Drakonis person… dragon… whatever, had trapped her, done something to her that reflected somehow in Viridian…

Elazul dug his fingers into the wood. "So how do we get her back?"

Sierra sighed. "I already said that you…" she stopped, closed her eyes. "That is not necessarily true. I must speak with Vadise."

"Your dragon?" Elazul turned away from the tree.

"Hardly." Sierra shook her head. " Anyway, I cannot do anything more here, on my own. Come to the White Forest. Both of you," she indicated Viridian as well. "As quickly as you can."

The dragoon bowed slightly, and then disappeared into the trees, moving hardly a leaf in passing.

"Elazul…" Pearl said into the silence. "What is happening…"

He looked at her, at the twins still huddled by the tree, at Viridian. "I don't know, but I intend to find out."

"I'm going too!" his guardian said firmly, as he started to walk away.

Elazul looked back at her. His first instinct was to say no…but the idea of leaving her here, again, was not very appealing. It hadn't exactly worked out well the last time. "Of course," he said. "Get anything you need from the house. We're leaving _now_."

Pearl ran for the door. "One of you, or both," he said to the twins, "Will have to go up to town and explain what's going on. To some extent. At least tell Jennifer that monster is taken care of."

"What monster?" Bud asked curiously.

"Ah…well…" he looked away. "There was a monster attacking things. I took care of it." Thinking about it made him ill. Especially after Viridian…he strode quickly over to the dragon.

"If you _ever_ accuse me of something like that again…" Elazul hissed at him.

"_You'll what?_" Viridian snapped back. They glared at each other for a moment, but Elazul found he couldn't keep it up. He looked away, remembering that moment of terror when he thought he might have been wrong after all.

"_You wouldn't._" The dragon's voice was low and reluctant, and Elazul looked up in shock. Viridian refused to meet his stare again. "_You wouldn't hurt her. Intentionally,_" he added quickly, eyes flaring.

Elazul looked at the pebbles lining the pathway. "I'll get her back," he said quietly.

"_We,_" Viridian corrected.

"So Sierra said." Elazul considered the dragon thoughtfully. "As…quickly as we can, she said." He picked over the words carefully. Bud and Lisa exchanged a glance, then looked at him, and back at Viridian.

"_Hell no,_" the dragon said emphatically. "_There is absolutely no way._"

* * *

--

* * *

_Okay, I have to admit, half the reason this took so long to write was the change in perspective. I planned it from the beginning, but when I came down to it, I couldn't help but wonder if it was a good idea. So I sat around, kicking my heels (and playing Rock Band…mmm, Rock Band) and thinking of a billion different ways to continue. In the end, I decided to stick to the original plan, because I didn't want to re-think the entire story. I already have too many dangling bits and pieces and loose ends that I was going to use for something and won't anymore because holy freaking crap this thing is waaaaaay longer than it should be. This story's like a run-on sentence, I've lost track of the commas and fragments, and don't really know if I can wrap it all up presentably._

_But I'm still going to try._

_Anyway, feedback would be much appreciated, for better or for worse. I've hit that point I always hit in a story (and I think most people do), where I start to doubt my own plotline and get the urge to just throw it all out and say to heck with it. I'm trying to get past that but…argh, I should have divided this into two stories about ten chapters ago, but noooo, I just had to toss dragons into the mix… (bangs head on wall)_

_Thus the slow updates. I'm sorry, for those who are enjoying it…and I can only assume anyone who reads through over 250 word-file pages (I'm still in shock over this) must be enjoying it to some extent…._

…_but if you are not enjoying it anymore because it's too long, boring, or convoluted, too Mary-Sue-ish, or just because the author has apparently gone off her fanfiction-addled rocker and whines too much…please tell me. _

_Thank you to all those who have reviewed so far! I would never ever ever have made it even this far without you. I like to pretend I don't care about reviews, but I have to admit, once and for all, that it's not true. They make my day whenever I see one, no matter what's in it, and they inspire me to write more. Thank you for reading!_

_Okay, author rant over. I'm sorry about this, but I really had to whine for a bit. (goes back to progressively driving characters insane)_


	23. White Forest

_Well, this chapter is nearly twice the length of some of the others, and nearly a quarter length again past the longest. I hope you don't mind. I considered turning it into two, but I figured you guys waited long enough for it, so I'll just say it's two for the price of one._

_I think writing longer chapters gives me an excuse to pretend I'm getting more done, as opposed to just being longer-winded about it…_

* * *

23 – White Forest

* * *

"It's further to the north!" Elazul waved a hand in that general direction. "You're going to take us straight into the jungle this way!"

_"Enough already!"_ Viridian snapped, looking over his shoulder in a maneuver that nearly sent them twisting upside down. _"I'm not your goddess be damned chocobo! Stop ordering me around!"_

"Okay!" Elazul was feeling too flustered to make an argument about it. "Go wherever you want then!"

"Elazul…" Pearl murmured into his back. "I don't feel so well…"

"_Not my fault!_" Viridian called. "_I'm not used to carrying two people!_"

"Can't you fly _lower_ or something? Maybe there's less wind down there…" Elazul wasn't terribly thrilled about the bumpy ride himself.

"_Look, when you learn how to fly you can fly in whatever airstream you want._"

"What do you need airstreams for? You don't have _wings_."

Viridian growled, probably because he didn't have an answer to that. "_If you recall, I wanted you to _walk!"

"Stop whining," Elazul snapped. "You think I like being stuck half a mile in the air with a dragon prone to _convulsions_ between me and the ground?"

"_I'll show you convulsions in a minute…_"

"Just shut up and _fly_ already!"

"Elazul…Viri…" Pearl said, loosening her hold long enough to pat the dragon's side. "Just remember, it's for Ren."

The dragon snorted, but it turned into sort of a choked cough, and he flew a little closer to the ground for a while. Elazul hissed under his breath and counted backwards from ten to avoid saying anything else. Just let Pearl handle the lizard, she was much better at it.

It was Pearl who had convinced Viridian to carry the both of them, though considering her viselike, terrified grip on him now, Elazul wondered why she had tried so hard. "Pearl, can you ease up a bit? I can't breathe."

"Sorry." Her arms loosened a fraction. "Elazul…"

"Yes?" Elazul didn't look back, because it put him off balance, and while the ride wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as he had thought it would be, he didn't want to tempt fate.

"Is Ren…" she hesitated. "You said, she's in the Underworld, so does that mean she's…"

"_No._" It was Viridian who answered. "_I would know._"

This seemed to satisfy Pearl, but Elazul couldn't help but ask. "How do you know you would know?"

"_Shut up,_" the dragon snarled, lashing his tail and throwing them all to one side. Elazul decided that he didn't want to know after all.

* * *

Some time later, he stood looking into a row of trees. With the naked eye, they looked the same as the rest of the trees surrounding him; white-barked trunks topped by clusters of leaves just starting to yellow around the edges. When he approached the somewhat overgrown path between them, however, he could detect a faint hum, deep in his core, that spoke of the presence of a powerful magic. It wasn't invasive or particularly uncomfortable, but it was unmistakably there.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped across the line. A slight tingle passed across his skin, and faded. The hum remained constant, no louder or more obvious than before. Elazul waited a few minutes, but nothing else happened.

He had heard tales of the White Forest; that few people who entered ever came out, and those that did never remembered what lay within. It was a place of sanctuary, one legend-monger had told him; you could not bring the world with you beneath those trees, and you could bring nothing of the forest back out…he stepped back across the line hurriedly. Nothing happened. He tried a few more times, but the odd sensation did not repeat itself, nor did the forest seem to object to his coming and going.

Well, Elazul had found more than one legend to be exaggerated over the years, and this was likely the same. Still, that didn't mean they shouldn't be cautious. He sighed and turned away, heading back to the others.

Pearl was kneeling by a tree, looking a little green, and Viridian lay nearby, faintly pale. The irony of this would have been amusing, if Elazul had been in the mood to be amused. "This has to be it," he said, gesturing back towards the strange trees. "The…field extends as far as I can tell north and south, it's not simply a local occurrence."

"_I told you,_" Viridian lifted his head, glaring as usual. The dragon had tried repeatedly to overfly the woods, but a mysterious force had gently repelled each attempt, giving them no choice but to land at the border.

"Yeah okay." Elazul waved him off. "Anyway, it's a large area, we'd better get going if we're to have any chance of finding Sierra in it."

Pearl groaned quietly. "Can't we rest? Just for a minute?"

Elazul looked between her and the path a few times, debating. "It's still light…I don't really want to travel at night, and I don't want to waste the time waiting until tomorrow morning, but…"

"No, nevermind!" Pearl scrambled to her feet suddenly, brushing off her dress with concentrated finality. "I'm fine, let's go!"

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I guess we can…"

"No," Pearl insisted. "I'll just…walk it off. I'll be fine!"

Elazul reached out with his core, trying to sense the veracity of that statement, and found himself blocked. He withdrew, stung.

"I'm not going to hold you back anymore," his guardian whispered, almost as if to herself. Then she ran past him, down the path. "Come on!"

Elazul looked after her, trying to think of something to say to that, but he had a feeling drawing it out into a long conversation would probably shatter the fragile confidence Pearl seemed to be trying to forge for herself. He looked at Viridian instead.

The dragon sighed and heaved himself to his feet, heading after Pearl without a word. Elazul wondered if that was a bad sign. Not to mention the dragon was walking instead of his usual gravity-defying hover.

"Perhaps we should have rested…" he muttered, pacing alongside.

"_Why? Are you tired?_" Viridian countered.

"No! I…" Elazul gave an exasperated half-growl. "See where trying to be nice gets me? Fine! Wear yourselves out!"

Goddess, but he wished Ren was there. She always seemed to strike that perfect balance of concern and strictness that made people feel encouraged without being _insulted_. How did she do it? Every time he tried, he might as well be walking the edge of a knife. With poisonous snake pits on either side.

Of course, if Ren was present, they wouldn't _be here_ in the first place, would they? If…Elazul picked up his pace to be ahead of the dragon, so Viridian wouldn't be able to comment on any change in expression that thought had caused.

It hurt, in a strange way. An empty space he hadn't realized was filled until it was empty again. Was that love? Falling into a routine that you didn't realize you were happy with until it was broken? It didn't make any sense. A mutually destructive spiral, good for no one. It only got her into more trouble, and now this…

"This isn't your fault."

He jumped as Pearl's voice broke into his thoughts. His partner had slowed, walking next to him again, and he hadn't even noticed. Too lost in turmoil of his own core, which was probably what had drawn her attention.

"I know," he started, but she interrupted again.

"It's not," she insisted, as if he hadn't spoken. "It would have happened anyway. Even if you and I had left, had…gone, this still would have happened."

"I know, but…"

"But because you stayed, now you're here to do something about it! If you'd left, we might never have known! If…if…" Pearl struggled for words, as if she was trying to force too many out at once. "I mean…you heard what Sierra said, about dragons and tools, and…it was going to happen! Forces beyond our control, but…"

"Slow down," Elazul gave up trying to protest. "I'm listening."

Pearl scanned the ground in front of her, possibly looking for a script, then spoke very slowly and distinctly. "You can stop it, because you cared enough to stay. If you had left, who would be here to help her?"

_Viridian,_ Elazul thought, but didn't say, because Pearl was looking at him with enough confidence to build a house on. _I wonder what her rather disillusioned other self would think of that?_ a darkish thought pointed out. Why did she assume he would be capable of doing anything? If he couldn't have stopped it from starting, what made her think he could stop it from continuing?

And yet…he knew he would try, because…well, there were a lot of reasons. Because he couldn't just stand back and let fate take over. Because he owed Ren enough favors to fill a lifetime. Because…just because.

"There…was that something Ren would say?" Pearl asked, quietly.

Elazul blinked, caught off guard, and almost smiled as the question reminded him of something. "You know, she asked me once if I thought she was a good role-model."

Pearl frowned. "Was that a yes or a no?"

"You sounded just like her."

His guardian smiled. "Good," she said, her voice dropping back into near-inaudibility. "I thought it might help…"

"Are you trying to cheer me up?" Elazul shook his head. "That's a switch."

Pearl looked embarrassed. "But…did it work?"

Elazul looked down at her, then up at the sky, darkening slowly above the trees. "Yeah. Come on, we have a dragon to find in this place."

* * *

They followed the path resolutely for some time, but it seemed to lead nowhere. Occasionally it diverged, similar paths leading off into identical trees. Elazul tried to mark their way, piling stones at the forks, but despite the fact that he was _certain_ they were going in circles, he never came back across the markers. Any attempt to leave the path and set off through the trees was quickly halted by massively overgrown underbrush, and Elazul was a bit hesitant to start hacking away at the plant life in a forest with a reputation like this one.

"Okay," he said, after what had to be the thirtieth, or maybe the same one thirty times, branch in the path. "_Now_ I'm tired. You'd think that Sierra would have the decency to _meet_ us somewhere."

"_Maybe she did,_" Viridian said as he sank to the ground. "_Maybe she was waiting twelve miles north along the barrier. Or south. Maybe you should have asked her before she left_."

"Nothing stopped _you_ from asking her either," Elazul snapped back. "It's not like she really gave anyone a chance to ask anything, did she. Just walked in, took charge and walked out, leaving our orders behind. Welcome to the dragon army."

"_Certainly feels like it, with all this forced marching._"

"I _said _we could rest, you're the one who….you know what, nevermind. Why even talk to you?" He stalked away from the dragon and hovered over Pearl instead, who was sitting under a tree by the side of the path. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," she said, looking up. "Walking helped."

Elazul sighed and sat down next to her. "May have cured your airsickness, but it's gotten us precisely nowhere otherwise." He looked at the path, faintly lit by the light of the gold moon. Watching the stars appear in the sky, he figured Salamander's moon should be up soon enough, and those two together should be enough for…

"Maybe we should rest for the night," Pearl broke in before he could suggest moving on in an hour or so. He sighed. She was trying so hard, and he knew if he said so, she'd get up and keep walking, but…

"Sure," he said, leaning back against the tree. "Maybe things will be clearer in the morning."

* * *

_This dream was different. It started with a forest, like the others, but this time it was calm. Birds called back and forth from alternating trees as they vied for each other's attention. A dappled golden light played over the ripples on the surface of a slow-moving stream. In it, a fish-like semi-transparent being was floating, thin blue arms gesturing as droplets rose and formed figures between her hands. Telling a story, perhaps, for the amusement of the girl that lay on the bank before her, blonde hair draped over her shoulders, the ends tugged slightly by the water as it passed._

_Ren? A younger, strangely vibrant version, but it had to be her. Still…Elazul couldn't help but feel that the light was a little too bright, the birds too frantic, as if the dream was trying to drown out and overlay a persistent feeling of unease that hovered in the background. Something was ever so slightly wrong._

_The leaves rustled nearby, and the water spirit dove and disappeared under the water as a slim white dragon slid from between the trees, her snake-like form covered in gleaming white fur, blue eyes matching the color of the stream._

_"Vadise!" The girl stood up in one movement, scattering drops from her hair as she ran to the dragon._

"Kesta,_" the dragon greeted her. Not Ren? But…Elazul tried to reach out, to interrupt, but as dreams often will, remained silenced and incorporeal. "_You and Undine are becoming close, are you not?_" Vadise's gaze was fixed on the water._

_Kesta shrugged. "She still will not let me use her magic. I don't understand. Perhaps I'm really not cut out to be a channeler after all. Despite what they say."_

_Vadise smiled. "_The spirits know best. You will find your place eventually."

_"Bah," the single syllable could have meant a lot of things, but the girl didn't elaborate. The dragon sighed._

"Come now, perhaps it will be sooner than you think. I have something for you._" The dragon held out a carefully trimmed claw and dropped a set of what looked like sticks into outstretched hands._

_"What are they?" Kesta asked, peering at them._

"Ornaments,_" Vadise explained, bemused. "_For your hair. You really ought to do something with it once in a while._" The girl looked embarrassed and turned the sticks over in her hands. "_They are carved from the wood of the great tree, imbued with the names of the spirits," _the dragon continued. "_Perhaps they will bring you luck."

_"From the tree?" Kesta looked off into the distance. "How?"_

"Long ago, before it was taken by the sorceress."

_Both stood in silence for a long time, broken only by the splash of the stream over hidden rocks. "That isn't right," Kesta said suddenly. "That these small pieces should be all that is available to us. Something should be done."_

_Vadise watched her intently. "_The faeries are massing an army. Viridian seeks to unite the remains of the clan with them, to band together against her…"

_"…and I sit playing with spirits, unable to lend my aid." Kesta began tying the sticks into her hair, dropping one occasionally and fishing it out of the stream._

"That is something I wished to speak to you about…_" Vadise began, but when the girl looked up it was golden eyes that met hers. _

_Kesta fixed the last stick in place. "There," she said firmly. "I am ready."_

_Viridian snorted. "_Why do you persist in worrying about trinkets? We have better things to occupy our time."

_"We do, but if I don't stop and do something frivolous now and again, I'll go completely insane." Kesta shook her head to insure the sticks were secure, and adjusted the swords at her waist. Light flashed from the green stone topping one, dancing across the golden, leaf-carved hilt of the other._

"Anise seeks to return to the tree, with armies of mages at our doorstep, and you are playing with your hair. I do not understand humans."

_"She will never break through the barrier. Anise lost her place when we threw her out, and she will never regain it."_

"She can still harry those who remain outside,_" Viridian cautioned._

_"And that is why we are here, are we not?" Kesta laughed, but her eyes were clear and intent. "Let's go."_

"Indeed,_" the red dragon answered, eyes black as night that looked straight through the girl in front of him. "_Let us greet the goddess._" Side by side, the two stepped across the stream. Elazul tried to turn, to follow, but remained frozen in place. _

_In the water in front of him, the spirit from before raised her head and spoke. Not understanding, he shook his head. She spoke again, louder, more urgent, then sprang from the water and took his hand._

Behind you.

_Elazul spun around, suddenly freed from whatever dream-force held him in place. Above towered a tree of massive proportions, large enough to hide a city. The tree groaned, a strange inhuman sound, produced only by the creaking of wood, the bending of branches near the breaking point. It writhed, a slow motion, no less painful for its near imperceptibility._

_He turned back, seeking Undine, but instead found himself facing a strange black shape with wings outstretched._

Stay out! _The black spirit hissed, and a solid force came from the single red eye. Elazul stumbled backwards into the tree behind him, catching the bark for support. There was a crackling from above and he looked up in time to see flames racing down the trunk towards him…_

* * *

He woke with a slight start, the fires fading. For a moment he thought the woods were on fire, but reality only took a second to fully reclaim his attention. The dim gold light of Aura's moon was nearly obscured by Salamander's larger orb, and with Undine's sphere not quite high enough to compete, the whole area was bathed in muted red.

_Flames…_ Elazul thought, wondering how much of the dream had been vision and how much simply his own subconscious trying to string together recent events. It was fading already, bits and pieces hanging in his mind as the rest drifted off, probably to be recalled next time.

_Maybe I should just give up on sleeping altogether,_ he thought irritably, staring up the path for lack of anything better to look at. _It only seems to make me more tired. _He hadn't dreamed in years, training himself to seal off that part of his subconscious that insisted on replaying past events mingled with assorted nonsense every time he slept. He figured there was plenty of thinking to be done while _awake,_ night should be a time to _rest._

Until recently anyway. Elazul got to his feet, wide awake now, and looked around. Viridian and Pearl were fast asleep, so far as he could tell, and he realized belatedly that it might have been a good idea to set watches. Then again, what would be stupid enough to attack a dragon?

A slight movement made him turn, wondering if that question was about to be answered, but he saw nothing. Only a rock beside the path, half buried in undergrowth and tinted pink by the moonlight. He took a step forward, wondering why it had caught his attention. Abruptly it opened its eyes, gave a squeak, and disappeared backwards.

"Huh," he said, watching the spot it had vacated. After a moment, the eyes reappeared, peering out from under the bushes, followed slowly by the rest of the creature. It was a round, pinkish ball of fluff, with stubby arms and legs. What Elazul had taken for moss on a rock was now visible as a sort of woven hat and matching skirt, wound around the creature into rudimentary clothes. Its eyes were large and probably nocturnal, but filled with more than animal intelligence.

Elazul watched with a mix of wariness and curiosity, and it looked back with the same. Then it spoke in a high-pitched voice, completely unintelligible.

"Sorry," he said back, deciding anything pink and fuzzy couldn't possibly be _that_ dangerous. "I don't understand."

The creature tilted its whole body in confusion, then repeated the rapid syllables, waving its arms for emphasis.

"Right," Elazul sighed. "Even if you say it louder, I'm still not going to understand you." It rocked back and forth a few times, obviously frustrated.

"Elazul?" Pearl's voice, from behind him. "What's going on?" He heard her get up and walk partly over. Turning, he saw her peering at the pink fuzzball, balanced on her toes has if peering over an invisible wall. "What…is that?"

"Beats me." Elazul shrugged.

"Is it…intelligent?"

"I think so." He looked back at it dubiously. "If I could actually _talk _to it maybe. Hmm." He looked around, located a stick, then crouched near the thing. It showed no fear now, obviously quick to make up its mind, and watched him with interest.

"Maybe you can help me, since I'm supposing you live around here," Elazul continued, scratching away at the dirt of the path until he had what looked something like a dragon. "We're looking for this." He pointed at the picture, then waved his hand in a way he hoped indicated a question.

The pink creature looked intently at the drawing, mumbling quietly to itself, then glanced up and made a noncommittal noise.

"Dragon?" Elazul tried, but got no response. He considered trying to draw Sierra, but decided that was beyond his limited artistic capabilities. "You know like…" he gestured at the sleeping bulk of Viridian.

"Oh, don't!" Pearl exclaimed. "You'll frighten it!"

The creature wasn't the least bit startled, however. It squeaked happily and hopped over to the green dragon. _It's not afraid,_ Elazul thought. _Which means it has to have seen one before, and knows it's not in danger…which means…_

After a minute of careful study, the creature looked back at Elazul, pointed at Viridian and let out a definitive chirp.

"Er, no," Elazul tried to clarify. "I already found that dragon. I need _another_ dragon." He pointed down the path. The creature looked at him, at the path, then back and forth a couple times. It said something obviously derisive, and then beckoned rapidly with one stubby arm. Darting past him, it dodged around a tree on the other side and a soft rustling indicated it making its way through the bushes.

"What the…" Elazul dropped the stick and sped after it, Pearl on his heels. Pushing his way past young trees and through brambles, he just barely managed to keep it in sight. Suddenly the way opened before him and he stumbled at the lack of obstruction.

It was a clearing, of sorts. At least, it was open enough to stand without touching any of the larger plant life, which wasn't saying much. There was no sign of the pink thing anywhere.

"Are we…lost?" Pearl asked, barely a whisper, behind him.

"Not yet," Elazul reasoned. "Seeing as we haven't tried to find our way back." Though, considering the way the road had been earlier, he doubted this was the sort of forest that let you get back to the path once you'd left it. He peered under a couple of bushes, looking for their guide, when a low hissing sound brought him upright again.

Looking around for the source, he saw the bark of one of the trees writhe slightly, and a long strip separate itself. A huge snake, white but tinted red by moonlight, detached itself and slid across the dead leaves towards him.

"Elazul!" Pearl was suddenly right behind him, clinging to his cloak. "Snakes…" Two more had appeared behind, one dangling from a low branch, the other still half-hidden in the leaves underfoot. Each at to be at least six feet long, thin but powerful looking, with cold black eyes without pupil, that made it impossible to tell exactly where they were looking. Elazul slid his sword free, trying to watch all three at once.

The snake nearest them reared up at the sight of the weapon, spreading strange feathery protrusions on either side of its head, and vibrating them slightly. Its mouth opened a bit, showing sharp fangs, and emitted a high pitched whine.

The strike came not from that one, but from the side. Elazul just barely caught the movement, and spun around, dragging Pearl back from its jaws. Shoving her behind him he backed up until he was between her and the snakes. Not for long though; the serpents split up again, one to each side, trying to get around them again. Nothing for it but to narrow the odds, Elazul thought, and swung at the closest one.

His sword struck the ground as the target slithered quickly to the side, but he didn't even pause to lift it again, the blade scattering leaves in its wake as it followed the snake. The tip grazed its side and it spasmed, snapping at the sword. Elazul ignored it, turning to another that he could see just to the left, bringing his weapon around to cut it in two before it could strike at Pearl.

"Stay your hand!" A familiar voice commanded. Elazul hesitated briefly, but the snakes scattered like water from a rock, disappearing noiselessly back into the bushes. Sierra replaced them, sliding from between two trees as effortlessly as the snakes.

"There you are!" Elazul exclaimed, letting his breath out explosively.

"Yes." Sierra didn't seem to notice his exasperation. "What are you doing out here? The guardians of the wood do not take kindly to unrecognized visitors."

"Looking for you!" he snapped back. "Fine directions you gave us!"

"I don't recall giving you directions."

"Damn straight you didn't!"

"Then why did you come out here," Sierra looked around the small clearing. "Of all places?"

"We were following some round native, before those monsters ambushed us."

"Why?" Sierra still seemed perplexed, though her face remained calm.

"Because it seemed to have some sense of direction!" Elazul practically yelled. "Unlike the supposed _path_ out there, which was taking us _nowhere._ Would you have us wandering in circles all _week?_"

"You were on that path? No wonder I could not find you. It is set up to keep unwanted visitors occupied until…"

"There didn't seem to be any place _else_ to go!"

Sierra blinked. "Vadise knew the minute you crossed the border. Why didn't you wait for me there?"

Elazul cut off his sentence and just glared at her. She stared back, impassive. "And how, precisely, was I supposed to _know_ this?" he asked, finally.

"It seems to me the logical choice, instead of wandering blindly down paths you do not know…"

"Which would have been perfectly fine if they behaved like _normal_ paths instead of circling each other like confused snakes. Speaking of _snakes_…"

"Enough." Sierra cut one hand through the air. "I see we have had a misunderstanding. We do not have time to squabble over it like children." Her tone insinuated that she obviously believed only _one_ of them to be acting childish, but thought it beneath her dignity to point it out.

Elazul took a deep breath and turned his back on her, looking at Pearl instead. "Are you all right?" His guardian nodded quickly, her eyes still wide, focused on Sierra.

"Where is Viridian?" the dragoon asked. Elazul waved in no specific direction.

"Back at the path, if it hasn't slithered off somewhere during all this."

"The dragon, or the road?" Sierra remarked in a perfectly reasonable tone. Elazul tried to convince himself that she was making a joke, and failed.

"Either. Both. Does it matter? Lead on." He gestured towards the trees. Sierra shrugged and started off between them. Pearl walked in front of Elazul, watching the dragoon with fascination. _Great,_ he thought. _I could deal with her trying to emulate Ren, but if she starts taking after that dog-woman I might go crazy._

It was a surprisingly brief walk back to the path, and Elazul suspected it had edged over to meet them halfway. As he stepped out of the bushes, however, he found the road blocked by a veritable wall of green scales.

"_Trying to lose me in the woods?_" Viridian asked pointedly.

"Don't be inane." Elazul rolled his eyes. "You were asleep, we didn't have time to wake you up. Besides, you would probably have tried to eat our guide anyway."

"_Guide?_" The dragon looked around, possibly for a snack.

"Yeah, it was a, um..." he thought about it. "Pink…thing. About so tall, grass for clothes…"

"A lilipea," Sierra commented.

Elazul snorted. "Yeah, that sounds just ridiculous enough to be its name. Anyway, it _acted_ like it knew where it was going."

"It probably did. It simply forgot that you cannot follow it along the same paths it takes."

"Sounds like someone else around here," Elazul pointed out. Sierra pretended not to notice.

"We have wasted enough time," she said instead, looking at the dawning sky. "Come, quickly."

"_Quickly would have been better achieved if you had given us _directions," Viridian muttered, saving Elazul the trouble.

* * *

Sierra led them straight down the path they had been taking before, except this time it did not fork or repeat itself, but continued straight to their destination, trickling off into the grass of a large clearing. Overhead, the trees arched like a cathedral, leaving just enough openings for the sun to break through and illuminate the glade.

One exceptionally large tree graced the far end, its roots bulging out of the ground and encircling a large, flat rock on which lay a dragon, almost like an afterthought, so still she might have been a part of the stone.

"Vadise," Elazul exclaimed, startled. Sierra stared at him, but he ignored her. It was the dragon from his dream. Her fur seemed slightly more grey, and her form certainly larger, but she was undoubtedly the same.

She stirred, the sunlight playing across her back as she lifted her head. Only one eye opened, and Elazul realized the other was sealed shut by a barely-concealed scar running down her face. The way she tilted her head to see straight out of that single eye was almost flirtatious, but the blue gaze was all the more piercing for it.

Awake, Vadise took command without speaking. An unmistakable aura radiated from her, calm and assured, and permeated the entire glade. Her neck swayed slightly as she swept her gaze over the newcomers, and rested longest on the green dragon before fixing on Elazul.

"_We have not met,_" she murmured quietly, but her voice was deep and carried quite well. "_How do you know me?_"

Elazul tried to think of a way to answer this. The truth sounded insane, and he just couldn't bring himself to say it. "How many dragons could there be in this area?"

Sierra shot a glare at him as she climbed up the roots, settling herself on level with Vadise's head, but the dragon only regarded him impassively. "_You have the better of me then. Please, introduce our guests, Sierra._"

"He is Elazul, knight of lapis, and his guardian, Pearl. They are Jumi," Sierra added, rather superfluously, Elazul thought. Apparently Vadise agreed, because she sighed slightly.

"_Sierra. I am not blind._" This would have sounded exasperated coming from anyone else, but Vadise was obviously used to her dragoon's mannerisms, and there was no hint of irritation in her voice. In fact she sounded so similar to Sierra, they probably thought the same and spoke the same and generally stated the already known to each other constantly.

Elazul wondered how they managed to get along.

"…and this is Viridian," Sierra continued without pause. Vadise nodded slowly.

"_This one I know._"

"_Oh?_" Viridian shifted uncomfortably under the white dragon's eye. "_You have the better of _me_ then, because I've never seen you before in my life._"

Vadise blinked, a momentary confusion in her expression, but smoothed it quickly. "_I suppose not. You remember nothing, then?_" Elazul thought there might be a note of pleading in her voice, but it was well concealed. "_Dragon of wood, protector of the great tree, who carried the mana knight to drive the sorceress from its roots, who guarded the clan in its height…_"

Viridian's eyes were growing progressively wider, and he stepped back with each phrase, until suddenly he shook his head rapidly and growled. "_Enough!_" he cried. "_I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't care about any of those things! I came here because _that_ person said you knew how to get Ren back!_"

Vadise broke off, now truly confused, and Sierra watched her with obvious concern. "_Ren?_"

"_Yes,_ _Ren!_" Viridian hissed, and now he glared at Sierra. "_You said she would know! You said she could help! Why did we come all the way here if no one knows…_"

"Viri, calm down, please…" Pearl rushed to the dragon's side. "Give them a chance…"

"_Ren…_" Vadise only looked thoughtful now.

"_Stop repeating things back at me!_" Viridian seemed near hysterics now, tail lashing against the trunk of a nearby tree with enough force to crack the wood. "_I want to know…_"

"Shut up, Viridian," Elazul snapped loudly, and to his utter surprise, the dragon listened, breaking off and staring at him. He turned to Vadise quickly, taking advantage of the sudden silence. "I think…you knew her as Kesta."

Vadise tore her gaze away from Viridian. "_How do you know that name, Jumi?_"

"I heard it," Elazul gave up on trying to not sound ridiculous. "In a dream. No, a memory. Someone else's," he clarified.

"_Someone? Who could possibly have told you?_"

"What do you mean, who…" Elazul started to ask, but Vadise surged to her feet, suddenly angry.

"_She is dead! All those that knew her are dead!_ _It was a thousand years ago, not even the ages of the Jumi can compare! How could you possibly know…_"

"Vadise!" Sierra seemed shocked by the dragon's reaction. "Give him a chance to explain!"

Vadise nearly growled at her own dragoon. "_Sierra! Why did you bring him here? Was it not enough to summon back this transparent shade of dragon past? You had to bring this _Jumi_ to mock me with things he does not understand…_"

"I understand perfectly!" Elazul yelled back. "How dare you accuse me of…what reason would I have to lie to you! We came here to _help_ you, why else would we have flown so quickly on barely half a sentence from some person we've never met! If you can't be bothered to _listen_ to anything you don't already _know,_ then we might as well turn back around and solve this problem ourselves!"

Vadise stared at him in shock. "_Jumi…_" she began, quietly now.

"Elazul!" he interrupted forcefully. "My name is Elazul, we were _just_ introduced! Keep calling me 'Jumi' and I'll refer to you as 'dragon', and we'll see how long it takes for that to get on your nerves!" The white dragon took a step backward, almost as if caught off guard by this onslaught. Elazul closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe deeply a few times. "I am not lying to you," he said in a more normal tone.

Vadise said nothing. Neither did Viridian, or anyone else. Even the trees ringing the glade seemed focused on him now. Elazul clamped down on an urge to back away, and tried to simply continue what he had started telling before. There was only one way to find out what was dream, and what was reality. "You called her Kesta, and gave her eight tokens, wood taken from the mana tree and carved with the names of eight spirits. It was a sunny day and she was talking to Undine in a stream…"

"_Stop._" Vadise stepped down from her rock, and paced fluidly across the glade to a creeper-veiled exit at the side. "_Come with me, Ju…Elazul._" She looked back, waiting.

Elazul hesitated. He glanced at Pearl, wide-eyed and confused, standing by Viridian, who was breathing heavily. Possibly from his recent outburst, and possibly not. He turned and cleared the distance to the white dragon quickly. "You had better be about to tell me something useful."

"_Come,_" Vadise repeated, and slipped under the vines. Elazul followed her, emerging into a smaller glade. The minute he stepped past the threshold, he was nearly blinded, but not by sight alone. The slight hum he had felt in his core upon entering the forest was multiplied into a whirling symphony that blanketed all senses. Stumbling backwards, he sought the exit, but the dragon's voice cut through the noise.

"_Hold your ground. It will not harm you._"

Slowly the music faded. Sight returned, a white aura lessening until it gathered around a rough-cut stone, nearly twice the size of a man, hanging in the middle of the clearing. It rotated slowly, held up by an invisible force, and gave off a quiet flash with each cycle.

"_It is a mana stone,_" Vadise continued calmly. "_Concentrated mana power crystallized to sustain the existence of mana-dependent life without the aid of goddess or tree._" Elazul frowned, one hand going to his core thoughtfully. Vadise noticed, and nodded. "_The same, though on a grander scale. Like the cores of your people, it detects truth, a filter for intention._"

"So you still don't believe me."

The dragon shook her head. "_I believe you. I need no stone to see the truth in your eyes, and the intent behind it. I apologize for my behavior. I have been under pressure lately, and it was a shock for me, but that is no excuse for acting like a child with no control of her emotions._" Vadise turned to the stone and bowed her head to it. She seemed to be concentrating.

In the middle of the crystal, an image began to form. A young woman with hair that gleamed in an unseen sun and an easy stance that seemed quite ready to take on the world. Ren.

Elazul reached out to touch the crystal's surface automatically and stood staring at it for a while, before realizing what he was doing. He dropped his hand self-consciously.

"_She is alive?_" Vadise asked, drawing his attention back. Elazul watched the still image a while longer.

"I hope so." The implications of what the dragon had been ranting about finally caught up with him in the quiet glade. "A thousand years…" He completely failed to wrap his mind around it and tried for something simpler. "You were friends?"

Vadise sighed. "_Kesta was friends with everyone. She knew everyone, liked everyone and inspired the same in everyone. What does it matter? They are all dead now, relationships forgotten and irrelevant. Ours is a story untold, unfinished, and ultimately…unimportant._"

"Unimportant?" Elazul turned to her angrily, but Vadise seemed lost in the past, staring into the depths of the mana stone.

"_How did you find her?_" the dragon whispered.

"I didn't," Elazul said. "She found me. Sort of. She's been…helping us. With a problem."

Vadise waited for a moment, but Elazul didn't elaborate. Eventually she sighed. "_It is just like Kesta to stop and get involved with someone else's problems, while the world could be crashing down around her._"

Elazul glared at her. "She didn't know about any of this. She doesn't remember anything."

Vadise frowned at that. "_Nothing?_"

He shook his head. "Nothing, and less each day. Even things that happened days before. It was getting worse…" he stopped. He didn't really see how this dragon could possibly help.

"_If she remembers nothing, how did you know…?_" Vadise asked.

"I seem to have acquired her memories. In part, at least. They don't make a lot of sense most of the time. It was in this tower, with a strange mirror…"

Vadise looked up, then settled back, thinking. "_Leires,_" she said, then shook her head, obviously not wanting to delve into the subject any more than Elazul had wanted to go into detail about Sandra. "_How did she react to this?_"

"I…never told her."

The dragon tilted her head. "_Why not?_"

Elazul watched the mana stone pulse for a while, trying to put it into words. "She was happy, it didn't seem important."

"_Happy,_" Vadise closed her eye a minute, then opened it again. "_Now it is…more important?_"

"I wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise!" he snapped. "Obviously things are a little different now!"

Vadise fell silent again, staring into the crystal. "_It is strange that, of all the memories I can imagine surfacing, you should bring up those hair sticks,_" she murmured.

"It was the first thing that came to mind. It seemed like something no one else could possibly know."

"_That is true. Do you know…I meant them to be a binding-gift._"

"Binding?"

"_I intended to make her my dragoon. A pact forged through a gift given, some physical symbol of the merging of souls. You saw the horn Sierra bears? It was my gift to her when she was chosen._"

"So…she was your dragoon, not Viridian's?" Elazul asked, confused.

"_No,_" Vadise shook her head sadly. "_Before I could make the offer, we were interrupted._"

"By what?"

"_War._"

* * *

The crystal flashed…

_Viridian slammed into the ground, half in the stream, scattering water everywhere in his haste. "_The mage-armies are upon us!_" he snarled. "_The faeries bring their strength from the west, we must make our attack now or never."

_Vadise sprang to alertness. "_Will they arrive in time?"

"I cannot say,_" the green dragon looked at the sky anxiously. "_We will hold our ground until they do._" He slid into the air, hovering some feet above the ground, the water running off his talons and back into its course. "_Vadise, with me.

_The white dragon nodded and gathered to launch herself upwards, when a hand on her flank stopped her. "Take me with you!" Kesta looked up at her, half afraid, half excited. Vadise seemed about to reply when Viridian broke in again._

"Kesta? What are you doing all the way out here? Back to the camp and warn everyone!_" He flicked his tail and sailed higher. "_Quickly!_" he called down to Vadise. "_We are needed at the front lines!"

"Later! I promise!_" she called back, and shot into the sky. Kesta looked irritated for a moment, then her eyes widened and she took off through the trees as fast as she could run._

_The camp was in uproar, and hardly seemed to need warning. Everywhere men and women were darting back and forth, gathering weapons, chanting hurried prayers. Kesta looked around and spotted someone she was looking for. Darting to catch her arm, she pulled a girl about her age around to face her._

_"Leires!" she exclaimed. "Viridian sent me to warn everyone, but obviously it's not necessary."_

_The second girl shook her silvery hair. "Where have you been? I was looking for you!"_

_"I was…" Kesta waved a hand behind her. "Talking to Undine."_

_"Any luck?" Leires looked hopeful._

_"No…" Kesta looked at the chaos around her. "And it seems I'm out of time."_

_Her friend squeezed her arm. "Never mind." She looked over her shoulder quickly, an older woman was calling to her. "I have to go, the channelers are forming groups. Find a weapon or something!" Leires called back as she ran towards the gathering women. "Don't think I haven't seen you training with the boys!"_

_Kesta sighed. "I wasn't trying to hide it," she muttered. Looking around, she ducked under the flap of a supply tent, neatly dodging a burly man who was exiting. Snatching a sword from the weapons rack, she ducked back out, then hesitated._

_"Kesta!" the man called as he saw her come out. "They need someone to help guard the children, at the meeting tent." Kesta opened her mouth, then shut it quickly, realizing how heartless it would sound to object._

_"On my way!" she shouted back, waving as she headed towards the pavilion at the center of the camp. Two seconds later she ran back into the supply tent, found a sheath for the sword and ran back out, embarrassed._

_Entering the larger tent, she found the children gathered together, some crying, some excited, some just staring around in confusion. There was plenty to be done. Babies to be comforted, food to be organized, and always the constant watch on the battle raging nearby._

_"They are losing," one messenger reported, a haunted look on his face. "The faeries are all but spent, and we are too few to make up their losses. The dragons fight well, but they cannot break through Anise's barrier. The tree remains hers, with all the mana power she can draw from it. The eyes of flame burn bright over the battlefield…" He closed his eyes in memory as an old woman tended his wounds, then opened them, focusing on something just over Kesta's shoulder._

_She was standing by the back support post of the pavilion, having stopped pacing restlessly when the messenger stumbled in. Looking up, her eyes fell on the old sword, mounted on its plaque at the top of the post. A stray flicker from the dim lamps seemed to catch on the blade, and it glowed faintly._

_"There was a time when…" the old woman started, but a loud explosion shook the air. The tent shuddered as if something huge had struck it, and the support beam overhead cracked. The heavy mounting tilted as its binding snapped and then fell, striking Kesta heavily across one shoulder and sending her sprawling to the floor._

_Which turned out to be a very good place to be, as a screaming wind built up and tore the entire pavilion from its moorings. The canvas fluttered for a moment, the heavy cloth dancing like silk in a breeze, and then was flung off to the side, revealing a huge, taloned bird, its wing sweeps beating the debris into a whirlwind._

_"Monster!" the messenger cried as he struggled to his feet. "They summoned them to fight the dragons! We must run!"_

_"How?" the old woman shrieked back, as the defenders formed a ragged circle around the children. Kesta shoved the beam away with her good arm, trying desperately to ignore the pain in the other, and struggled to her knees, coughing in the dust from the wind._

_The roc, with any predator's instinct for picking off the wounded, focused on her immediately. Rolling to one side, she drew her sword and scrambled upright. The bird swooped in with single-minded determination, and she slashed at it, waving the blade madly at its eyes as it snapped at her. _

_Behind her, the group with the children was quickly hurrying them towards cover, and she smiled in a grim sort of triumph. The bird took no notice, darting its head down again, beak closing over the sword and breaking it with an audible crunch of metal._

_Kesta threw herself flat as the talons whistled overhead. The bird had taken to the air again, finally having noticed the lack of victims. Looking around desperately, her eyes fell on the other sword, shaken free of its plaque in the collapse of the pavilion. Display-piece or not, a weapon was a weapon. Her hand closed around the hilt._

My child.

Aid me.

_The voice was soft, but clear and precise. She didn't know where it came from, but the sound of it filled her with strength. She raised the blade, light and balanced in her hand, and challenged the bird again. It turned at the cry, the golden light of the sword reflecting in its eyes, and dove again, reaching for it._

_Kesta stepped to the side and brought the blade up as it descended, and as the edge barely brushed the outstretched claw, the entire bird exploded in light, breaking into fine particles and dissipating into the dying wind._

_She lowered the sword slowly, looking around in a daze. From the trees nearby, the children were peering out. One of the defenders ran forward suddenly. "By all that's holy," he gasped. "How did you…"_

_Kesta wasn't listening. Her eyes were drawn to the horizon, where the huge bulk of the mana tree was visible even over the surrounding forest. Anise's black barrier surrounded it, all but obscuring the outlines of branches and trunk beneath. From within, she thought she saw a faint flash of gold, but it was quickly obscured as a streak of green rose up from the battlefield between and grew rapidly larger as it sped towards them._

_Viridian struck the ground in much the same manner he had scattered the stream earlier, but now his eyes were wide with shock, their golden glow matching the beam of the sword. For a moment no one spoke, then an ecstatic shudder ran down the dragon's spine._

"Now,_" he hissed. "_The battle turns. I never would have expected,_" he continued, eyeing Kesta appraisingly. "_But I suppose I should have."

_"Where is Vadise?" Kesta asked, looking beyond Viridian worriedly._

"She holds the front,_" he stated easily, still watching the sword. "_ She will find this ironic, to say the least. Come!_" he commanded, and crouched low for her to mount._

_"But…I…" Kesta almost took a step backwards, suddenly confused._

"The goddess calls!_" The dragon trumpeted, then he lowered his head and spoke almost gently. "_Come. You will not fall."

_Kesta swallowed, and then, gripping the glowing sword with one hand, pulled herself clumsily aboard the dragon's back. Only then did she realize her arm was working again, as she was forced to cling to the dragon's fur when he launched himself into the air._

_Viridian flew low, almost below the tree line, the highest branches brushing his sides as he passed. The sounds of battle came from beneath the trees, and here and there wide open spaces appeared where some spell had charred the earth flat. Before them the mana tree seemed to grow from the horizon, taller and taller until it dominated the view. _

"When I say strike, strike true,_" Viridian called back, the wind carrying his voice straight to her ears. Kesta laid low against his back._

_"You mean I have to let go?" she cried, holding tighter. The oily black barrier was beneath them now, and through it, the dim shape of the great tree seemed to stretch its branches to greet them. Viridian laughed._

"The goddess will catch you,_" he said, and twisted. "_Now!_" Kesta clung all the tighter to his back, and then, almost without knowing why, she let go. Time seemed to slow, it was as if whatever magic held the green dragon in the air had passed to her. She felt she had wings, invisible, intangible, carrying her downwards with speed but no momentum._

_The point of the sword struck the barrier, and all noise ceased. A ring of gold appeared around the contact point and spread outward, picking up speed as it went, spiraling down around the tree, leaving nothing but bubbles of light behind. _

_Kesta drifted down through the hole, the branches rising around her, the green canopy closing overhead. She came to a halt, touching down gently at the heart of the tree. In front of her stood a woman, imperfectly defined. It was something like a mirror; looking into the woman's eyes, she saw herself, but she also saw her own mother, lost in the war long before. She saw the village matriarch, the children, countless faeries, even in some way Vadise's striking blue eyes looking back at her._

My daughter,_ the goddess spoke in a voice that was many voices, holding out her hand._ My fearless child. Become my strength…

* * *

The vision fractured. Just before it disappeared completely, Elazul thought he saw the familiar flames try to break through, but a blinding golden light pushed them back, leaving him standing once again in the crystal glade, staring at the now-blank stone.

He stepped back quickly, feeling shaken. Only seconds seemed to have passed, but it had been so real, not dream-like as the others. _The influence of the mana stone?_ he wondered, but he couldn't focus on analyzing it. The image of Ren, or Kesta, or whoever it was, and the goddess, reaching out…and between them, that blazing sword. It seemed to be trying to tell him something, but in a voice too loud.

A soft sighing sound broke his attention away. Vadise's head was bowed and her entire body shook. The dragon was crying. Tears slid from her good eye, quickly lost in the close fur of her neck, but there was no mistaking it. Elazul stared at her in shock, then looked away, embarrassed.

No, jealous.

He watched the mana stone instead, examining it intently, as if its white opacity could blanket out everything else. Why? Why was he not able to express…could he not even feel…no outlet for emotion, imperfectly understood…when even a dragon could cry?

"_You…_" Vadise's voice scattered the fragmentary thoughts to the wind. "_You have been touched by the mana sword. To bring so easily to life that which passed ages ago…there is no other explanation._"

Elazul looked up, confused. Of all the things the dragon could have said, that seemed to make the least sense. "Ren never had the mana sword," he tried to explain. "I don't know what she's doing here…now…but she never had that sword."

"_Nevertheless,_" Vadise had regained full composure now. "_I see its influence on you. The stone does not lie._" She gestured at the crystal. "_Try to believe in yourself._"

Elazul frowned, wondering if dragons were supposed to be mind-readers or not, and if not, what the supposed omniscient stone had been telling her about him. "Did you see something different than I did?" he asked finally.

Vadise sighed, and then looked at him intently. "_How much do you know about the sword of mana?_"

"Not much," Elazul admitted. _Not for lack of trying,_ he continued silently.

"_It is a link to the goddess herself, a piece of her soul solidified and given as a gift to the mana clan, a group of humans that stayed true to her even when so many were falling away. When Anise bore her holes into the tree, set up her barrier and sealed off the tree's mana for her own warped usage…the clan took the sword and fled._"

"And hung it in a tent." Elazul rolled his eyes. "None of them thought to wield it in the fight?"

"_It was the soul of the goddess, an object of peace. They thought it would be sacrilege, inappropriate at the very least, to use it as a weapon of war._"

Elazul smiled slightly. "Trust Ren to figure a sword is a sword. Obviously some things never change."

"_She became the mana clan's heroine. Transformed from the simple, friendly child we knew into a proud warrior with confidence you could break rocks over. She was the goddess' blade, the mana knight._"

Elazul thought about that. It wasn't hard to reconcile the shining swordswoman of the visions with the determined hurricane he knew, though possibly he was a little biased. Thinking about her taking off after Sandra, standing up to Blackpearl, even just sitting around and laughing about the strangest things…

"Yes, well." He looked away quickly, anywhere but at Vadise's intent gaze. "She still didn't have that sword."

The dragon looked puzzled. "_She must. Drakonis could not attempt what he is doing now without it. Sierra and I thought that some wandering warrior must have found it, and Drakonis led them astray. Now you say it is Kesta herself. That changes everything._"

"For better or for worse?"

Vadise looked deep into the crystal. "_I am afraid._"

The idea that he might actually have to fight Ren suddenly occurred with mind-numbing force. Not just some demon spawned in her place, but the real thing…Elazul sat down on the nearest rock, a sudden nausea washing over him. Vadise turned, watching him. "_Are you well?_"

"No," he snapped, figuring there was no point in lying in the presence of the all-knowing stone. "I haven't been well since a core-hunter with bad aim tried to kill me, and none of this is helping."

"_Perhaps you should rest._"

"Weren't you in a rush to get us here?"

"_Sierra was,_" Vadise said, almost apologetically. "_She has a very personal interest in this, and hopes that by hurrying parts along, she can bring it to conclusion faster. The fact of the matter is, there is nothing we can do until Drakonis moves again. We cannot penetrate the Underworld, we must wait for him to surface._"

"Now you tell me." Elazul sighed.

"_So you see, you may rest after all._"

"No. I'm not stopping until some part of this makes _sense_," he insisted fiercely. "I still have questions." How did she end up here, now? How did Viridian end up as practically a pet? Where did Drakonis come into all of this? If they saved the mana tree from the sorceress…why did it burn? The flames that ringed every vision flickered in the back of his mind.

"_I am not sure I have answers._" The white dragon looked sad and confused, and it brought Elazul up short. He tried to comprehend what she might be feeling, but it was impossible. To suddenly hear tell that a friend of a thousand years previous is alive, but under the enemy's power? How did one sympathize?

"Did you ever ask her about…you know, the dragoon thing?" It wasn't what he had meant to say, but suddenly he couldn't focus hard enough to ask something relevant. Of course, this was probably not the most tactful question, either, as Vadise took on a rather darker look.

"_No. Viridian had claimed her by then. How could he do otherwise? He was the mana dragon, as everyone called him, and she the mana knight._"

"You could have complained."

Vadise looked at him, uncomprehending. "_You do not know what he was then. He was the oldest of us dragons, the closest to the goddess. Our unofficial leader, and the embodiment of all that dragonkind was created to be. I could not go against him…I, the youngest of us all._" She glanced towards the entrance to the outer glade. "_It is hard to believe that dragon out there is Viridian._"

"Oh don't worry, he's still possessive and arrogant." Vadise blinked, shocked. "What? That's the opinion you were silently expressing, isn't it?"

Vadise continued to stare at him. "_How strange,_" she murmured.

"What is?"

The dragon turned away, heading for the exit. "_That is how Kesta described him as well, though she adored him. Looking back, I do not think I would have made as good a partner. I could never have…kept up._"

Elazul stood up. "Vadise," he said suddenly. The white dragon paused. "She still wears those hair sticks, you know. All the time. So, maybe it's not as unimportant as you think."

Vadise tilted her head, this time not to see straight, but in genuine puzzlement. "_Jumi, you…_" she stopped. "_No, I am sorry. It is not the time to bring up such things. The others will want to know about all this._" She turned and continued out of the glade, then looked back again before leaving completely. "_Thank you,_" she said, with the tone of one who hadn't had much practice thanking anyone for anything, and disappeared.

* * *

_As I was thinking about the dragon arc (way back when I first planned this out), I figured you mostly see Larc's side of it. Somewhere in the background are Sierra and Vadise, but you don't really see them much until the end. So I wanted to explore that. I threw Elazul into it because, hey, he's my secondary main character and despite all the horrible things I think of to do to him, I actually like the guy. Besides, when I started thinking about how to write Sierra, I absolutely couldn't resist forcing those two into company, because I had a feeling they would bug the crap out of each other, and I'm petty like that. Oh yeah, and like he's just going to sit back and wait for some dog-woman and her dragon to rescue Ren for him._

_What I didn't figure though, was that Vadise was going to turn into my outlet for all this dratted exposition, and that, as things turned out, she's kind of chatty. What the heck? I was trying to make her this aloof, sort of elderly dragon who's seen quite enough of the world, thank you very much, but somehow the first thing she ended up doing was throwing a temper tantrum. El just brings out the best in people, I guess. ;)_

_Dang blast it, now I have to re-think some later scenes. I hate it when characters evolve without permission._


	24. Dying Wind

_So anyway, I'd just like to say thank you for all the beautiful, wonderful reviews last chapter…and every chapter, for that matter! Whenever I'm feeling uninspired (like, every three paragraphs) I break out my review page and give it a read. Always cheers me right up. Mind you, that doesn't mean if you do see something you don't like, you shouldn't say so…oooh, how's that for a bunch of conflicting negatives in a sentence?_

_Love you guys!_

* * *

24 – Dying Wind

* * *

_The Sword of Mana._

The crystal pulsed faintly. For a moment, a line seemed to solidify within it, then it broke up, blending back into the natural light of the stone. Elazul sighed. Looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching, he kicked the base of the stone, then turned away, leaning his back against it.

He'd been trying to get the stone to show him something useful since Vadise had left the glade. Not wanting to listen to the likes of Sierra and Viridian discuss the meaning of recent visions, he'd decided to focus on trying to uproot some more. The crystal had been extremely uncooperative so far, however.

"Not that I really know what I'm doing," Elazul told it, over his shoulder. "But you could be a little more helpful."

The crystal did not reply, but its light turned an almost smug sort of grey. Elazul closed his eyes, trying once again to match the tone of his core to the still-tangible whine of the mana stone. For a moment they sang in harmony, a clear unbroken note. At the edge of his mental vision, an image wavered, darting in and out of focus like a nervous animal. He turned, trying to catch sight of it, but the movement jarred the melody and it diverged, spinning off into darkness.

Elazul stumbled away from the crystal and sat down hard on the rock he'd been using before. Resting his head in one hand he waited for the pain to fade. "Damn Sandra anyway," he hissed, peering at the mana stone through his fingers. It hung listlessly for a moment, then began rotating again as if it was never disturbed in the first place.

Vadise was probably right, he should get some rest. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he wore himself out wrestling with some oversized Jumi core. "All right," he said, standing up. "You win. Maybe you only work for dragons."

Heading for the exit, he had one hand raised to brush aside the hanging vines, when a flash of light from behind illuminated the glade. Turning, he saw the crystal spinning rapidly now, the pulses of light from it irregular, but getting stronger. _Goddess,_ he thought. _I hope I didn't break it._

The vines were tossed roughly aside and Sierra shoved past him, rushing into the glade. Elazul scrambled back, rightfully expecting the white dragon to be close behind her. Vadise strode to the stone, peering into its fitfully flashing depths.

"What did you do?" Sierra snapped, glaring. Elazul shrugged, but before he could come up with a reasonable explanation, Vadise cut in.

_" Sierra,"_ she said without taking her eyes from the stone. _"It is receiving a message."_

"From who?" The dragoon hurried to the crystal.

_"I cannot tell. There is something wrong with it, but not on this end."_

"One of the other stones?" Sierra laid her sharp-nailed hand against the crystal's surface, but before she could speculate further, the stone stilled and an image appeared within. Bluish-grey scales and several sail-like fins and horns ringed an obviously draconic face.

_"Akravator," _Vadise exclaimed. _"What news?"_

The new dragon's pale grey eyes were not focused on her at all, but looked off to the side, as if watching something just out of sight. _"Vadise…Drakonis' infernal dragoon…"_ The image sputtered and distorted, then snapped back into clarity. _"I cannot hold them off! What ridiculous power has he dredged up from the depths of hell…Vadise!"_

_"I am here!"_ The white dragon cried, but Akravator obviously could not hear her; his gaze never wavered from whatever held his attention.

_"The Windcallers…"_ his voice grew sad and angry all at once, and a furious hiss sprang from his teeth. _"Vadise, I send a warning. Guard your stone well! Warn Jajara…"_ The image flickered again, and faded. The mana stone resumed its calm rotation.

_"He is under attack!"_ Vadise spun away from the stone. Elazul's first reaction was relief that he hadn't damaged the it, but he quickly shoved that aside in favor of a far more appropriate response.

"By Ren?" he queried, surprised at how reasonable it came out. _Why? Why did I assume it's her?_

"Drakonis' dragoon could not attempt this on his own," the dragon looked over at him, pity in her glance. Elazul forced himself to meet her gaze without blinking.

"How?" Sierra looked shocked. "How could they have left the Underworld without our knowledge?"

_"I do not know, but they must be burning mana power like the great sorceress herself to move so quickly."_ Vadise hissed, her fury muted, but no less fierce than the grey dragon's had been. Sierra growled, low in her throat.

"Vadise! Send me to Akravator! There may still be time to aid him!"

_"I fear it is too late. The Windcallers could never stand up to…"_

"Please!"

Vadise lowered her head. _"To break the seal on the stone will leave us vulnerable…"_

Sierra stood her ground. "If Drakonis gains Akravator's stone, it won't matter in the slightest what wards have been placed about this one. The only way we can catch them is to bring to play sufficient mana to match theirs!"

The white dragon sighed. _"Sierra. You argue well as always, but you cannot hide your heart from me. It is not Akravator you rush to meet so eagerly. Do not let love blind you to the truth." _Her dragoon's eyes widened, and for a moment she seemed speechless.

"Nevertheless…" Sierra murmured eventually, dropping her gaze. "The result will be the same. We must try."

Vadise shook her head slowly back and forth, but it was a motion of indecision, not denial. Finally she straightened, and turned back to the stone. Raising one claw, she began to hum under her breath. Elazul felt it, deep in his core, the same as when he'd first entered the forest. It grew in intensity and then suddenly shot outward, a ripple in the ether racing on to the edges of the forest.

The stone glowed only slightly brighter, but the feeling of power in the glade was palpable. The white dragon circled the stone once and stopped, seeming to bask in the mana energy.

"What now?" Elazul broke the silence. He felt on edge, the vibration of the crystal singing through his ears. Vadise didn't answer, merely spoke a few words in an unknown language and slit the air with one talon. A line of light broke open, expanding quickly until a large circle hung in front of them. Through it bright sunlight beamed, reflected off white snow and pale rocks.

_"The Norn peaks," _Vadise informed them. _"Akravator's sanctuary. Hurry, I do not wish to hold this open over long."_

"I will return," Sierra bowed to the dragon and headed for the portal.

_"Wait,"_ Vadise halted her at the brink, and turned to Elazul. _"Go with her."_

"What?" Sierra turned, refusal in her very stance. "He will only slow me down."

Vadise blinked slowly. _"You hope to reason with Larc, do you not? What do you plan to do against the other?"_

Sierra looked appraisingly at the Jumi. "Come, then," she said shortly, and leapt through the shining portal. Elazul stepped forward, then hesitated.

"Pearl," he started, half-turning to the exit.

_"I will guard her, and Viridian as well,"_ Vadise assured him._ "There is no safer place in the world right now. Go."_

"No safer place, huh." Oddly, he did not feel reassured.

* * *

The portal dropped them into the middle of a disaster area, but a deserted one. At one point, it must have been a village. All around stood rickety looking huts, built into the gravelly dirt of the mountainside. Most of them remained upright, but a few seemed to have been torn from their moorings, as if by a great wind, and even the standing ones showed signs of damage.

Sierra paced quickly around the base of one. "This is the Windcallers' village. Why are we down here? The portal should have placed us right by Akravator's mana stone!"

"Maybe something was wrong with it? On this end?" Elazul reasoned. Sierra growled under her breath and took off through the village at a run. Stopping at a few doorways, she called out, but no one answered. Continuing up the main path, she came to an abrupt halt.

In front of them, a steep but wide trail began its winding journey towards the mountain peak. "Look there!" she pointed upward, and Elazul followed the gesture. The top of the mountain was sheathed in a nearly-invisible gleam, a slightly iridescent bubble surrounding the peak.

"Is that a barrier?" he asked.

"It must be what stopped us from teleporting straight to the stone. Akravator must have put it up to halt their passage. That is where the Windcallers will have gone, to strengthen its defense."

"Then we aren't too late!" Elazul headed for the path, hearing Sierra's rapid footsteps close behind.

"They will not hold out long against Larc," she stated as they ran. "Akravator's dragoons are many, but individually quite weak. They will spread out to maintain the barrier…a field of that size needs support from both sides…"

_Why the hell is she wasting breath explaining this to me?_ Elazul thought, not wanting to use the energy to ask out loud. He glanced back at the white dragoon, just long enough to catch her expression. _She's nervous, it's breaking her usual calm. Because of that Larc person? Vadise said Sierra had a 'personal' interest in this, that was making her rush things._

_I wonder if they were lovers?_

Elazul nearly stumbled on some loose shale as they rounded a bend, and Sierra passed him. "Watch where you step!" she snapped on the way. "I'm not going to carry you if you break an ankle!"

_Right, stupid speculation later,_ Elazul told himself and devoted all his concentration to the progressively treacherous path.

They had reached what Elazul judged to be the midway point between the village and the peak when Sierra suddenly pulled up short. "Look!" she pointed to the side of the road where a lone figure was slumped.

Kneeling, she rolled the body over. It was a thin, light-boned person, covered in grey-blue feathers the same shade as the dragon in the crystal's had been. Its narrow head tapered to a sharp beak, and its eyes were round and black like a bird.

"S…Sierra?" it croaked in a high but broken voice.

"What has happened here?" she asked. "No, don't move…"

"It does not matter…" the Windcaller whispered. "I am nearly finished. The others have scattered, but it is only a matter of time…they cannot last long…" It raised a feathered arm and pointed towards the peak. "Please…" The eyes closed as the arm dropped back to the ground.

Sierra folded the arms over the Windcaller's chest and stood up. As she backed away, a gust of wind seemed to rise from the birdlike body and blew towards the mountain top. Elazul followed the path with his eyes, just in time to see the barrier around the peak flicker. "Sierra," he said, drawing her attention. "I think we're out of time."

The dragoon ran past him, but only made it a few more steps before the flicker became more rapid, and suddenly the barrier disappeared. There was a surprising lack of fanfare, until a delayed blast of wind rocketed down the path, nearly throwing them to the ground.

For a minute, Sierra stared speechlessly up the path, then broke into a run again, jagged at first but evening out quickly. "They will not defeat Akravator so easily," she gasped back. "Hurry." Elazul spared a quick glance for the dead, then ran after.

They passed two more Windcaller bodies on the way up the mountain, and Elazul could only guess how many more might lie along the paths they did not take. Sierra found her way easily, never hesitating at branches. Obviously she had taken this route many times, but never, Elazul guessed, with such grim determination.

Overhead, a piercing shriek rent the air, and another barrage of wind did its best to send them back down the slope. Glancing up as it died, Elazul saw a huge winged shape, almost black against the sun, hovering over the peak. Even as he watched, it screamed again, folding its wings and dove, disappearing around the top of the mountain again.

"He is injured," Sierra said without slowing, obviously seeing something in the dragon's flight that Elazul could not.

"Then why doesn't he retreat?" he asked in return, over the sounds of a now-audible battle. "He can fly, get away from them…"

"He would leave the mana stone as easily as you would leave your guardian, Jumi!" Sierra snapped. "To the death, he will protect…"

"Your point is taken," Elazul hissed back, but before he could say more, a pile of greyish feathers caught his eye. Stopping beside it, he realized it was a collection of corpses. Windcallers, but smaller, lighter….

"_Goddess,_" breathed Sierra, kneeling by the pile. "Larc…._why?_"

"They must have made a last-ditch stand." Elazul looked up. "So close to the peak…"

"They are barely hatchlings!" Sierra yelled now, scrambling to her feet. "How…how could he…" she hung her head, shoulders shaking. "No," she whispered, low. "This is Drakonis' doing. He has twisted him. It is all that…" Shaking off her momentary weakness, she turned towards the peak.

_Twisted._ Elazul's stare lingered on the bodies. The feathers scattered about reminded him of the leaves from the sproutling in Domina. _Except this time, it's real._

* * *

As they ran the last stretch to the top, Sierra suddenly flagged and stumbled. Her eyes opened wide seconds before an ear-splitting shriek ripped through the air. The mountain trembled beneath their feet, and she clapped her hands over her ears and howled. The anguished wail echoed thinly with what could only be a dragon's death cry.

Elazul kept his balance, braced against an outcropping of rock until the tremor faded. In the aftermath of that horrible scream, he could hear a faint note. It sounded familiar, like the crystal in Vadise's glade. Akravator's mana stone was calling for help.

"Go," Sierra gasped between obviously pained breaths. "Hurry. I will catch up."

He left the rock and continued up the path, following the call of the stone. He focused on that sound, let it lead him, because he knew if he stopped to think about it, he wouldn't make it another step.

Rounding what turned out to be the last bend in the path, Elazul stopped short, the crystal's call silenced. Whether because it had faded or he had simply lost track of it, he didn't know, his mind transfixed by the scene in front of him.

Akravator sprawled across the wide ledge, unmoving. One wing dangled lifelessly over the cliff's edge, his tail twisted back among the rocks knocked down by his death throes. Blood pooled underneath, seeping into the dirt and staining the mountain all around.

Between Elazul and the body stood Ren.

She had her back to him, hair windswept and disheveled from the battle. In her left hand she held one of her familiar unbalanced blades, tapping the tip against the ground with complete disdain, but in her right…

This sword she held slightly aloft, away from the ground, perfectly still. The blade was long and curved slightly along its whole length, before sweeping back at the tip in a double-edged hook. A deep red stone shone from the hilt, matching almost exactly the blood that coated the blade. As he watched, a drop coalesced along the edge, working its way down to the tip. Elazul couldn't drag his eyes away from it as it hung, and fell.

Just before it struck the ground it burst into light, splitting into faint blue particles and drifting away. Like the first snowflake before a storm, the rest of the blade caught on, and the light swept across it. Just as it reached the hilt, a brighter light sprang up from the head of the dragon and raced down his spine. As if caught in a gust of the wind that had been his element, Akravator's corpse dissipated in a wave of light, fading to a breeze as the last of the tail disappeared.

For a moment, time stood still. Elazul realized he'd forgotten to breathe, and when he remembered, a surge of anger and flat-out despair came with it. "_Ren!_" he yelled, though there was no more wind to shout over.

She shifted, only slightly, just enough to look over one shoulder at him. Her eyes met his without expression or interest; she had turned at the noise, nothing more. Elazul heard a soft scraping behind him as Sierra caught up, sliding to a halt on his left.

"Where is Larc?" she called hoarsely, still out of breath. Ren turned further, watching both of them now. She said nothing. "Answer me!"

Ren held the tableau a bit longer, then turned back, walking towards an opening in the cliff face. Elazul hissed explosively. "Don't…walk away from this!" he snapped out, and ran for her.

He hadn't consciously meant to, but some instinct of self-preservation drew his sword for him. It turned out to be a very good idea. Ren spun towards him instantly, clearing the distance left between them. The red-hilted sword snapped up, the hook lodging itself firmly around his own blade and twisting, nearly tearing the sword from his grasp.

Elazul had seen that move before. In a bar in a small town, a completely innocuous situation, when a blonde girl had disarmed him with a barstool and looked so _confused _about it.

There was no confusion now. The only thing that kept his weapon from sailing over the cliff was the extra strength of a stone hand; there was no way he could free it. Ren still had her second sword, and he knew it would take no time at all to bring it around.

"Is this how it ends?" he asked, straining against the inevitable, trying to spark some recognition in those dead eyes. "The same way it began?"

Her head snapped up, looking to the side. Sierra was running for the cave mouth, the only place on the empty mountainside Larc could possibly be. Ren stepped back, sliding her sword away without a sound, and shot after her.

"Sierra!" Elazul yelled, trying to recover his equilibrium enough to pursue. The dragoon glanced back, just in time to dodge to one side as Ren's sword sliced through the air where she'd been. Sierra sprang back, then leapt in the air and twisted downwards, her knives flashing in the sun.

Elazul ducked and scooped up a rock, sending it flying before he really thought about what he was doing. It struck Sierra, bouncing off her armguard and jolting her out of the attack. She fell short, distracted, and Ren ducked easily under the knives and shoved the dragoon away, sending her crashing to the ground. For a moment she hesitated, then turned and disappeared into the cave.

"_You!_" Sierra snarled as Elazul ran up. "What do you think you're _doing?_"

"That's not a demon-spawned Underworld clone!" he snapped. "I won't let you…"

"You stupid, rock-begotten, brainless _fool!_" Sierra leapt to her feet without further explanation and ran into the cave after Ren, Elazul on her heels. Passing through the entrance, he found himself assaulted by an abundance of light and sound. It warped and twisted, light writhing as if in pain, and then cut off with a suddenness that left him with disorienting spots dancing in front of his eyes.

The crystal hung in the middle of the cave, almost identical to Vadise's. In front of it, a glowing portal was standing open, red light pouring through the gap. Even as Sierra called his name, a red furred canine that could only have been Larc leapt through the ring and vanished. There was no sign of Ren.

Elazul ran for the portal, assuming she must have gone through already, but Sierra caught him by the arm and, throwing all her weight behind it, dragged him back.

"Let me go!" he shouted, trying to break her grasp.

"And jump right down Drakonis' throat?" she hissed. "I know now why Vadise always complains about how useless Jumi are!" Gathering her strength, she shoved him back again, but met little resistance this time.

Elazul stumbled against the stone wall and stayed there. "Vadise?" he asked, shocked. "Says that…?" Sierra wasn't listening, she'd turned to the rapidly closing portal. Beyond it, the mana stone was shaking, its rotation erratic and tilted. Holding her hand out to it, the white dragoon seemed to pull at the crystal and the ring at the same time, and there was a flash of brilliant light.

"This way, hurry," she called, gesturing at the portal again. It had stopped shrinking, and inside the red light had been replaced by a cool green that had to be Vadise's forest. "I have used the last of the power to divert the portal for us, but it will not last long." The darkening mana stone's light had nearly vanished now, the rotation ceased. Elazul could no longer hear its call, not even this close. "Hurry!" Sierra repeated, louder now. "Or do you want to _walk_ back to the forest?"

Shooting a last glance at the dying stone, Elazul stepped through the ring.

* * *

"Akravator is dead." Sierra stood before Vadise, staring at the moss in front of her. The white dragon had resumed her place under the tree, her eye half closed in contemplation. Across the glade, Viridian was asleep. His scales were ashen and his limbs twitched occasionally in time with some fitful dream.

"Where is Pearl?" Elazul finished his quick scan of the glade.

Vadise looked up. _"She communes with the mana stone."_

Elazul glanced at the entrance to the crystal glade worriedly. "That's really not a good…" he started towards it.

_"Leave her be. She must come to terms with herself, for herself."_

"And what do you know about it?" he asked, looking at her suspiciously. The dragon looked calmly back, a hint of sadness in her eyes.

_"More than you think,"_ she began.

"So I heard," he cut her off. "Useless, was it?" Vadise's eye widened and she glanced at Sierra, who passed the glare back to Elazul.

"What does that matter now? Have you no sense of the appropriate?" the dragoon asked, then continued without waiting for a response. "Akravator has been slain, by some strange reincarnation of the so-called _mana knight_. Whatever you thought to achieve by sending this, this _boy_ with me--"

_"She did not respond?"_ The look of anguish on Vadise's face grew.

"Not at all!" Sierra paced back and forth in front of the dragon. "She's like a monster, you should have seen…the Windcaller village is destroyed, the dragoons decimated, even Akravator, and her without a scratch!"

_"Akravator, I suspect, would not wish to harm her. Drakonis knows full well what he's doing, using her as a shield for his…"_

Elazul had about as much as he could stand of this. "Aren't you _overlooking_ something here?" he interrupted. "Ren was not _alone_ on that mountain! Stop…stop talking like she's doing this on her own. She's being controlled, manipulated by that--"

"Are you implying _Larc_ is controlling her?" Sierra rounded on him furiously. "Larc is as much a victim here as--"

"Did I _say_ that? I was talking about _Drakonis_, why are you so defensive?" Elazul let his eyes narrow. "Or maybe your _love_ has blinded you, as Vadise said, when deep inside you know he's doing this willingly."

Sierra growled audibly. "How dare you, you do not _know_ him! Larc is not like that, he's not…"

"And yet you have no trouble handing all the blame over to Ren when you know her not at all."

"I have known Larc far longer than you have your memory-challenged girlfriend," Sierra's voice was deadly calm now. "And am in a far better position to judge his actions. How can you say for sure that the person we fought on the mountain isn't her _true_ form? Near a thousand years have passed since the disappearance of the mana knight. What _proof_ have you?"

Vadise drew in breath sharply at this, but Sierra didn't notice, she was fixed on Elazul, and _ he_ wanted no help from the dragon. "I don't need _proof,_" he said, trying to match her calm. "I _know. _There are benefits to being Jumi occasionally. Ren has always been the clearest, the easiest to read, with her heart and her feelings there for anyone who knew how to look…and that," he indicated what might have been the directions of the mountain. "_Was not her._" Sierra watched him coldly, but did not retaliate, and Elazul plowed on ruthlessly. "You're the one who's unsure. I can see it, _sense_ it, there behind your eyes. You're the one who's worried that your boyfriend might be--"

"My brother!" Sierra burst out angrily. "Larc is my _brother._ How dare you make _assumptions_ you know nothing about!" Elazul found himself at a loss, whatever else he'd been planning to say re-routed midway. "So," the dragoon continued. "I suppose that only leaves _one_ of us, how did you put it, _blinded._"

"I am not blind!" Elazul yelled. "I could see what she--"

"Then why did you stop me?" Sierra sliced a claw inches from his face. "You lost us the only chance we might have had! You acted to _protect_ a woman who could have killed us both in an _instant,_ who had already showed complete disdain for the sanctity of life, killing even the young of the--"

"That wasn't Ren!" Elazul broke in hotly. "Or don't you know the difference between the work of sword and axe?" Sierra fell silent, but an immeasurable fury rested in her eyes. "Ren would never, no matter what some twisted maniac has done to her, harm _children._ At least Akravator was a _dragon, _capable of defending himself. Apparently someone's _brother_ is not quite so honorable…or maybe he simply took on the enemies that were up to his level, leaving the real fight to the--"

"_Shut up!_" Sierra screamed now, rage breaking over into words. "You--"

_"Enough!"_ Vadise stood up all at once, silencing them. Elazul started and turned towards her. The white dragon looked as furious as her dragoon, but her anger was measured and far more terrifying. She said nothing more, merely stared down at them from her rocky throne until there was no more room for argument. Then she spoke, slowly and deliberately.

_"Sierra. I thought you above this."_ The dragoon dropped her hands and looked away, obviously mortified. Vadise turned from her and fixed her icy stare on Elazul instead. _"Jumi, just because you have spied a gap in someone's armor, does not mean you should drive home the blade."_

The dragon's level voice might as well have been a lance. Elazul couldn't think. Suddenly bereft of arguments, he had nothing to say, his mind still full of disturbing images with no outlet. He glanced at Sierra, but she had her back to him and did not turn. Logic told him he should apologize, say _something_ at least, but he couldn't make himself speak a word.

_Ren would apologize. It wouldn't be easy, but she'd do it anyway, and then let it go. She knew how to admit, how to take the blame…even when it wasn't her fault, she was always…_

_"Ren?"_ The voice that broke into his thoughts was Viridian's. He must have been awoken by the raging discussion, and now stood, shakily, staring at them in bewilderment. _"Killed…a dragon?"_

_Oh goddess,_ Elazul was jolted away from any other line of thought he had been pursuing. _I did not see this one coming._ He stared at the look of panic in Viridian's eyes and realized, a little disgustedly, that he would rather talk to the green dragon than anyone else in the glade just then.

Vadise began to speak, but Elazul held up one hand at her over his shoulder and walked towards Viridian. By some miracle, neither the white dragon nor her dragoon actually said anything.

_"Well?"_ Viridian asked stridently as Elazul stopped next to him. _"It's a mistake, right? You can't be serious."_

"It's true." Elazul matched the dragon's stare. "But at the same time…not true. I don't think, no, I know that wasn't the Ren we know. She was…" he hunted for the right word. "Possessed. You could see it in her eyes."

Viridian stood up taller. _"Why didn't anyone _tell_ me? I should have been there, I could have…"_

"Could have what?" Elazul tried to stay reasonable. "Snapped her out of it?" He gestured at Vadise without looking. "I think that's what they were hoping _I_ would do, but it had no effect at all."

_"She didn't recognize you? Not even…"_ Viridian's eyes were wide now. _"Will she come here? If she does, will she…know who I am?"_ The plaintive, desperate tone made Elazul realize, suddenly, how young the dragon really was.

"She might," he said. He'd meant it to be comforting, but as he spoke, another idea occurred to him. "You and her have a bond that I can't begin to touch. You…you might be right. They should have sent you instead." Elazul heard more than felt the bitterness in his own voice. "You have a connection with her, something from a thousand years ago, that might have called more strongly than I ever could."

_"I don't remember it,"_ Viridian said, but quietly now. _"Vadise keeps saying things, but it makes no sense to me. Kesta? The name has no meaning. All I know is Ren." _ The dragon's voice trailed off into despair and he lowering himself back to the ground tiredly.

"Ren…" Elazul watched the green dragon for a bit, then suddenly, impulsively, reached out and laid a hand against his back. "We'll get her back," he insisted. "Forget the past, let _them_ worry about the 'mana knight', about Kesta, whoever she was, whoever you were. We'll get _Ren_ back. If we both try, I'm sure…"

_"What if there is nothing left?" _Viridian lifted his head briefly._ "I feel so tired."_

"There has to be!" Elazul insisted. "Drakonis may have his claws in deep, but somewhere…" He let his hand drop. "Goddess, I can't do this. The only person I've ever been able to fool in my _life_ is Pearl, and that just doesn't count for much."

He sighed and started pacing back and forth. "I'd love to be able to tell you for certain, but, despite what I said…" he glanced over at Vadise, who was deep in discussion with Sierra now. "Thinking about that…person out there, I can't help but feel that we've lost her." Elazul ran one hand through his hair in frustration. "And all I'm left with is scattered memories of a girl that lived a thousand years ago. Nothing, _nothing_ of Ren."

Viridian was still watching him, his expression dark, thoughtful, and silent. Elazul realized he'd just let his attempt at being nice backfire like an improperly loaded cannon. _Think before you speak! How many tries will it take to learn that lesson?_ He stared back at the dragon, searching for some way to turn it back around, but came up empty handed. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly, and turned away.

Vadise and Sierra were staring at him now. "What?" he snapped at them, and headed for the crystal glade. Pearl would be able to comfort the stupid dragon, and the other two could take care of themselves.

A warning from his core stopped him before he could move the vines aside. From beyond he could hear the insistent, penetrating call of the mana stone, but just underneath there was a different sound. Pearl's familiar chime, but faint, obscured beneath another, deeper tone.

_Blackpearl._ Elazul backed away quickly. If there was a list of people he would least like to see at that point, she would have been near the top. His fingers clenched tightly, and suddenly he shoved off between the trees, heading in no direction except _away_.

* * *

Eventually the trees gave way and Elazul broke out onto the packed dirt of the forest path. He looked around, decided it didn't much matter which way he went, and decided to go neither. Sitting at the base of one of the trees, he closed his eyes and tried to give his mind time to catch up.

After a few moments, he heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. Looking up, half expecting snakes, he was relieved to see a fluffy pink ball emerge from the other side of the path.

"Oh, you again," he said, though for all he knew it could have been a different one. The lilipea chirped happily and scuttled over to hop up and down next to his knee. "Yes, yes, hello. I see you. What do you want?" It looked up at him with large eyes and sat down. Apparently he was fascinating. "Okay…look, I'm not in a great mood right now, why don't you go away before that becomes annoying."

It didn't move. Elazul tried to ignore it, but couldn't help glancing down at that fixed gaze occasionally. Finally he sighed, rested his chin one hand and regarded it thoughtfully. "Have you ever had the feeling that life is just out to get you?" he asked. The lilipea just stared back at him. "I mean, you'd think I'd be used to it by now, but…it's different. How so? When a bunch of people you don't know hate you, it's easy enough to deal with, but…"

The pink ball's gaze was so direct, Elazul began to wonder if it even had eyelids. "Why am I talking to you, anyway? You can't even understand me." The lilipea tilted its body, still watching him, and let out a string of syllables. "Probably _because_ you can't understand me, huh." It blinked at him, and he sighed again.

"Well, I don't know what you're actually saying, so I might as well make things up."

It trilled another couple words.

"I suppose it's better than talking to anyone else, the way things are going. If I could understand you, you'd probably be yelling at me by now."

The lilipea gave a squeak that sounded suspiciously like a snicker.

"Yes, I suppose I _could_ be a little nicer about it myself."

"What are you doing?"

Elazul glanced up as Sierra stepped out of the trees. The lilipea jumped up and ran a few delighted circles around her feet. She watched it for a second, then made a gentle shooing motion towards the bushes. It chirped and waved, then disappeared under the brush.

"Hey," Elazul said. "We were having a perfectly decent conversation there."

"Were you. _I _don't even know what they're saying, and I have been trying to learn for decades. Only Vadise really understands them."

Elazul gave up, apparently she was back to being deliberately obtuse. "What do you want?"

"I came to apologize."

"Vadise sent you to apologize, you mean."

Sierra frowned. "Yes, I suppose she did, but not in the way you seem to be implying."

Elazul sat back against the tree. "Accepted."

"What?"

"Your apology. I'll save you the trouble of trying to figure one out."

Her eyes narrowed. "That is not terribly convincing."

Elazul shrugged. "I'll get over it."

"You're just trying to get rid of me."

"Yes."

"So you can sit here and brood and waste what little time we have left?"

Elazul stared impassively at her for a moment, then stood up and headed back down the path towards the glade. Or at least, he hoped it was towards the glade. Sierra didn't correct him, merely followed, so he assumed he had to be going the right way. Stupid forest, playing havoc with his direction sense, it was worse than the desert.

"Do you love her?"

Elazul tripped over absolutely nothing in the path in front of him and spun around. "_What?_" Last thing he remembered, they were talking about lilipeas, where did _that_ come from?

"I didn't think it was that surprising a question. Do get a hold of yourself."

No matter how pressing the idea might have been lately, no one likes having his innermost thoughts thrown out at him like an inquiry about the weather. "I see no reason to discuss something like that with _you_." Elazul turned quickly back to path.

"I'll assume that's a yes, then," the dragoon said, her footsteps measured and even.

"_Assume_ it's none of your business." Elazul said, picking up his pace. For a while there was silence, though Sierra remained the same distance behind.

"I wasn't asking to be nosy," she said finally.

"You shouldn't be asking at all." Why would she not take the _hint_, he wondered.

The dragoon sighed. "Vadise was concerned that she might have misread your intentions. I am merely trying to ascertain them for her."

"Why doesn't she come ask herself then?"

"She cannot be everywhere at once. She is discussing something with your partner currently."

"If she's talking to who I think she's talking to, that is _not_ my guardian."

"You are changing the subject."

"Why do you _care?_" Elazul hissed in frustration.

"You intend to go into the Underworld after her," Sierra said calmly. "This is no simple task. One requires a certain amount of…determination to go and return, much less bring another out."

Elazul turned again, sharp enough to cause a collision with a normal person, but Sierra stopped easily. "Then it _is_ possible!"

"Not for you, I suspect," she said quietly. This time there was no rancor in her voice, she seemed to simply be stating the facts as she saw them. "I suspect," she repeated. "That you cannot even admit your motivation to yourself. This indicates a lack of confidence, a lack of, as I said, determination, which…"

Elazul sighed, but he couldn't muster the energy to get angry again just now. "Does _no one_ else understand that I _can't?_ How many times do I have to explain, how many people do I have to tell, before one of you _realizes_ what you're asking of me!"

Sierra took a step back, and Elazul took the moment to continue walking, hoping against all hope that she would leave it alone now.

"Just because there is a curse looming over you, does not mean you should bow before it." Sierra's voice followed him.

Elazul came to a halt, staring at the trees in front of him. _You can argue it until you run out of breath and pass out, can't you, but in the end, the only person you've managed to fool is yourself. _Sierra's words were ringing in his head like a bell, and he looked back at her. "Are you quoting someone?" he asked.

"Vadise. Does it matter?"

He shrugged. "I used to think like that," he said quietly, fingering the hilt of his sword.

Sierra waited a while before asking, "Why did you stop?"

Elazul couldn't make himself meet her eyes. "Because…it's a lot harder to stand up to fate when you really have something to lose to it."

Sierra regarded him intently for a while, then brushed past him, heading down the path. "This way."

They proceeded down the path for long enough that Elazul began to wonder if it was up to its old tricks. Surely he hadn't run this far from the glade? "Sierra…" he started to ask, but before he could get further, she slid to the side, between two trees. Elazul paused in front of them, frowning, until she stuck her head back around one.

"You are too indecisive. Not strong enough. _Follow me._"

The last phrase rang out with more than a hint of command. It hung the air and underneath it Elazul thought he could hear the thrum of the mana stone, distant though it was. He stepped between the trees.

Nothing happened. He spotted Sierra's tail disappearing around another tree and ran after it. Ducking under branches and around bushes, he fought down an uneasy sense of the familiar. Drawing his sword, he vaulted over a fallen log and stopped, searching the brush around him for snakes. "Sierra," he called, turning in a slow circle. "What kind of--"

_"Sesshun. Vistel. Fenri."_ The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, but despite the tone, it was definitely the dragoon's.

"Sierra!" he tried again, but no answer came. From the side, the bushes rustled, and Elazul spun towards it, just as a white shape burst forth. He threw up his arm in defense and teeth closed over the stone. A mad snarling followed, and a second beast struck from behind.

Tearing his arm from the jaws of the first, he swung blindly, turning to drive away his assailants. Three greying, red-eyed wolves circled him, slinking low to the ground, growling intermittently. One of them feinted, darting forward, only to rejoin the circle on the other side. Then, in a flurry of claws and fangs, all three struck.

There was no time to think, to plan or strategize. He brought his sword up and drove the hilt into the nearest beast's belly, throwing it back, then flipped the blade around and carved a line in the second from shoulder to flank. It dropped and he followed it, evading the third.

Rolling back to his feet, Elazul put a tree behind him and hoped by all that was holy, there were no snakes in it. The injured wolf lay on the ground, unmoving, but the other two recovered quickly and sprang again. One closed its teeth about his blade and drew back again, snarling, blood dripping from its jaws. The other took advantage of the distraction and leapt for Elazul's throat.

Reaching out with his left hand, he felt claws rake along his skin as his fingers closed around its neck. Letting all the frustration of the past few days gather in his arm, he slammed it into the tree behind him and let it drop lifelessly to the ground.

It disappeared in a puff of smoke. Turning quickly, he saw the one he had wounded previously do the same. Anger suddenly overrode all else. _Summoned creatures! It _is_ Sierra, using the open power of the mana stone to…_

Letting out a growl to match the wolves, Elazul kicked the last one back and pinned it to the ground with his sword, not moving until it, too, disappeared. "Sierra…" he hissed.

"That's better," the dragoon's voice came from nowhere again. "After that farce on the mountain, I thought you really were useless, but Vadise insisted we give you another chance." The chanting started up again, and five more wolves popped into existence under the trees.

"Another chance at what?" Elazul shouted. "What do these…_things_ have to do with Ren?"

There was no answer but the howling charge of the wolves. "I thought you were in a _hurry_!" Elazul yelled at the trees, knocking one beast back after another, just barely staying out of their jaws. "Why are we wasting time on this stupid, petty…" Lights were flashing behind his eyes now, mocking the stabbing pain from his core. _Not strong enough._ "Damn it, I'm not going to let this stop me! Fine! This game is… over!" His vision grew darker, but he didn't need it. He swung the sword in an arc, parallel to the ground and felt rather than saw the light flare from its edge. The circle wound outward and there was an audible series of crackling explosions as each wolf broke apart and disappeared.

Elazul blinked until he could see again, bringing his sword up to the ready. Keeping himself upright by some reserve he hadn't known he had, he pointed it at a specific tree. "Come out."

Sierra stepped around the trunk and smiled. It wasn't a particularly _nice_ smile, but it wasn't exactly cruel, either. It was…satisfied.

"Once before, I saw that. In Domina, when you fought that shade, the mockery of the one you love." There was no hesitation in Sierra's voice now, and she left him no room to protest. "It was brief and unskilled, but it was a true power, something that hasn't been seen among the Jumi for centuries. That same drive, that determination that you call on in the heat of battle, that is what you must employ."

The meaning of her words took a moment to sink into his brain. "Against Ren? I can't!"

"No. Against those that entrap her."

"Well. That's not a problem, then. Why bother--"

"Even if she stands in the way?"

Elazul froze, ice running through his veins.

_"Sierra, I believe that is enough."_ The light suddenly returned in a flood. Just beyond the last line of trees, Elazul saw the green moss of Vadise's glade shimmer back into visibility. Staring at the calm blue eye turned to him by the white dragon, realizing she must have been watching the whole time, he suddenly felt very tired. Not just exhausted in body, but soul-weary and drained.

"A test?" he managed, stepping from the trees. "What is it you want from me?"

_"I?"_ Vadise asked. _"What is it _you_ want, lapis knight?"_

Elazul started to answer, but his gaze drifted to the side and fell on a tall, familiar form standing near the dragon's head. Blackpearl.

"Anything," he said slowly. "But having to deal with _her._"


	25. Fragments

* * *

25 - Fragments

* * *

A hand was prodding at his shoulder. Without thinking, he reached up and swatted it away. Someone giggled.

"Lazy."

Elazul sat up in a rush. Ren's green eyes stared at him from a couple feet away. Behind her, a long way behind her, the treehouse stood lonely on the hill top, and even further, the edge of the woods. A familiar scene, but stretched. "Where is this?"

"It's called a _lawn,_ El," Ren shook her head in mock sadness. "And people say I can't remember things."

He looked around. The grass was drifting gently sideways, but there was no wind. He thought he heard a child's laughter from the trees but even that seemed distorted, unreal. "I'm dreaming," he decided.

"Are you?" Ren glanced at him, slightly worried. "Am I dreaming too, then?" She pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked back and forth a bit. "I always thought I might be."

"Always?"

"Yes, from the beginning. Ever since I woke up in the woods that day, there's been something slightly unreal about the whole thing." Elazul's eyes widened, but she didn't seem to notice anything strange about what she was saying. "Like I shouldn't really be here, you know? But I thought, so long as people need me, so long as there's something for me to _do_, then it can't just be a dream. Especially you."

Elazul jumped. "Me?" He felt heavy, slow, like he wanted to say more, elaborate, ask questions, but he couldn't seem to force out more than one word. _This is why I hate dreams._

"Yes, you." Ren didn't seem to be having the same trouble though. "There's something _real_ about you. Grounded. Maybe it's because you have rocks for brains, like Rachel said." She laughed suddenly. "Oh, I don't know how to explain it. Whenever you're around I feel stable. Whole." She stopped, her face falling again. "But if you're dreaming too…"

Ren looked at her hands, holding them in front of her as if she expected them to disappear any moment. "Don't wake up," she said urgently. "Please don't wake up…I don't want to…"

"Don't want to what?" Elazul asked, but she only looked back at him, seemingly frozen. "Ren?" He reached out to touch her shoulder, and the image fractured. A red, clawed talon burst from the air and raked down his arm, tracing the pattern the wolves had left before. Elazul leapt back, reaching for his sword, but finding none.

"Well, well, well." The claw withdrew and shrank, reforming into an arm at the side of a man dressed in red. He stood perfectly straight and still, but around his feet the grass crackled and crumbled in on itself, burnt in a fire as intangible as the wind.

"Who are you?" Elazul asked.

"I was about to ask the same of you," the man replied, stepping forward, the circle of dying grass trailing in his wake. "Though I suspect my identity is far easier to discern."

The man's face was an enigma, neither young nor old, his features faintly curious and slightly mocking, but not enough of either to really be called an expression. Only his eyes were clear; red-tinted orbs that blazed with the anger of centuries.

"Drakonis."

"At your…service." The man leapt forward suddenly, as if driven by the downbeat of invisible wings. A tail that had not existed a moment before lashed out from the side and struck at Elazul like a scorpion. Pain lanced through his core and for a moment he thought…but nothing else happened.

He stayed where he had crouched to try and avoid the blow and glanced down at his arm. The skin was whole, unbroken, even though Sierra's summoned wolf had certainly done damage before. Drakonis' strike had simply mirrored the pain, and this attack had only called up memories of Sandra's strike. He put a hand to his core, hesitantly, but found it smooth, unbroken.

_You're dreaming,_ he reminded himself, and straightened, facing Drakonis again. "I think I see your game."

Drakonis looked mildly irritated, but it disappeared swiftly. "I suppose I should have known that no one _she_ called on for aid would be so easily swayed. Now, I am intrigued. Who are you?"

"None of your business."

Black eyes flared with a reddish light as Drakonis smiled briefly. "That was predictable. Surely you could come up with better?"

"I'm not here to entertain you. What have you done with Ren?"

"Ren?" Drakonis pretended to think this over. "Ah yes. The mana knight reborn. _Ren._" He laughed, suddenly. "So utterly trite, and perfectly in character." The red-lit eyes blinked slowly as he continued to regard Elazul. "I would give up on her, Jumi. She is mine and always has been. Body and soul. You can hardly expect to compete."

_The hell…?_ Elazul tried to beat back a rather exasperated thought that persisted in wondering if he was cursed to have dragons for rivals at every turn. _No, he's lying, or something close to it. Trying to get to you. _ In that case, there was nothing to do but ignore it.

"Do you really think you can fight me? Surely no mere woman is worth that much trouble," Drakonis persisted when his first statement failed to elicit a reply. The dragon, or whatever he was at the moment, seemed to be trying to figure him out. Elazul had no idea what he would do with the information if he had it. Probably nothing good.

"I have a debt to repay her," he said easily. It was, after all, true. "She's been fighting an enemy of mine, of my people. Without question, she's poured her heart and soul into fighting a problem that was never hers to begin with. Just as you are, technically, not my problem. So yes, in completely quantitative terms, I owe it to her to fight you."

"Well put, knight." Drakonis snickered, and flexed one hand. For a moment a huge talon shimmered there, firelight playing over half-transparent scales. "However, in completely quantitative terms, you are the equivalent of a very small insect in front of me. You don't stand a chance." The claw sliced through the air, trailing sparks behind it.

Elazul didn't move. He'd already called that bluff, and the fact that the dragon was re-using a blatant trick had to mean something. _He's worried. Not frightened, necessarily, but worried. I'm an unknown variable, something he hasn't planned for, and however inconsequential he may find me, it bothers him._ "Yes well. Quantity isn't always what matters, is it?"

"No," Drakonis almost grinned, but there was something strained about it. "Certainly I've seen a lot of Jumi passing by lately, but the quality has been rather lacking."

_He striking blind now. _"Don't change the subject," Elazul snapped, wishing fervently that he had a weapon of some sort. Whose stupid dream was this anyway? "Where is she?"

"You know where already," Drakonis said slyly. "It is an easy enough place to find. Everyone does, eventually."

_Goddess, it's like talking to Viridian!_ _Are all dragons just that obnoxious? _Elazul didn't want to deal with this any more. He obviously was not going to get anything out of this dream-Drakonis, even if it really was him and not some warped piece of his own imagination.

This was a dream, a real dream and not some mana-spawned memory, which meant he could wake up when he darn well pleased. Pulling on that part of his soul that had kept away nightmares for years, he felt the surroundings waver.

Drakonis' eyes widened. "Running away?" he asked mildly, despite the surprise on his face. Elazul didn't answer, and the dreamscape shattered.

* * *

Elazul thought he should probably have woken up with a start after that, but he felt quite calm as consciousness returned. There was a humming in the air around him that chased away whatever fear might have followed him from the dream world.

Ah, the mana crystal. He opened his eyes to watch its measured rotation in the air nearby. He vaguely recalled falling asleep in the smaller glade, more because it was empty of annoying people than any desire to stay near the stone.

The area wasn't empty now. Vadise's unmistakable white bulk lay stretched on the other side, head against her claws, watching him through the misty light from the crystal.

"How long have you been sitting there staring at me?" Elazul sat up, cautiously, but everything seemed normal. "That's kind of, you know, strange."

Vadise looked perplexed. _"I was monitoring the passage of mana between you and the crystal,"_ she explained, as if it was obvious.

Elazul looked at the glowing stone. "That's not any less strange. Can't I take a nap without someone trying to run experiments on me all the time?"

The dragon didn't bother to dignify that with a response. _"How are you feeling?"_

"Better," he said, surprised to find it was true. Looking down, he found the damage done by the wolves had vanished without a trace. "What did you do?"

_"I suppose you could call it…a mana transfusion. You needed it."_

"Hmm." He stood up, stretching. "Maybe you should have thought of that _before_ you sicced your crazy dragoon and her wolfpack on me."

Vadise ignored that as well. _"You spoke to Drakonis in your dreams,"_ she said, changing the subject with tactless but significant force.

"How do you know that?" Elazul turned to face her, surprised.

_"The crystal showed me. You spoke first to Kesta, and then Drakonis. How is this possible, I wonder?"_ It was hard to tell if she was asking him, or herself.

"You're not suggesting I was _plotting _with him or something, are you? I thought it was just a dream," he said.

_"After recent events?"_ Vadise raised her eyelid expressively. _"You are more talented in denying the obvious than I thought. No, do not take offense,"_ she held up a claw in warning and Elazul subsided._ "I am weary of arguing for now. It was, in a way, just a dream. Dreams very often are an easy way for the not-quite-real to touch reality, however briefly."_

"I thought it was a dream because it made no _sense_," Elazul corrected her. "Not because I wanted to _deny_ it."

_"No sense?"_

"Nothing Ren said made sense, nothing Drakonis said made sense. It all felt fragmentary, the way dreams are."

_"I could not hear what was said, only watch,"_ Vadise explained.

"He said-"

_"No, do not tell me. I do not care what he said."_ Her gaze was cold now. _"Every word that comes out of Drakonis' mouth is a lie. It does not matter who he is talking to, I suspect he lies even to himself, out of habit." _Vadise remained quite still, but an quick lash of her tail nearly uprooted a bush. _"I am far more concerned as to _how_ he contacted you, rather than what he had to say."_

Elazul frowned. "The mana stone, I assume." He waved at the crystal. "How else? Didn't he drain the power from Akravator's?"

_"An educated guess, but an incorrect one. I have been talking to your…"_ Vadise hesitated as Elazul glared at her. _"To Blackpearl, and she has informed me that something about you does not sit right with her."_

"The feeling is entirely mutual," he muttered. "You mean she's still hanging around?"

Vadise sighed exasperatedly. _"Elazul,"_ she said sharply, bringing his attention back from where it had been warily regarding the vine curtain. _"Tell me, how did you survive that blow to your core?"_

"What does that have to do with-"

_"Just answer me."_ Vadise interrupted with forced-sounding calm.

"You said you did something, while I was sleeping." Elazul knew perfectly well that wasn't what she was talking about, but the whole subject made him defensive.

_"Indeed, but there would have been no mana stone present at the time of injury." _ The dragon watched him intently. _"Blackpearl insisted you were done for. She has seen many such situations, and I do not doubt her analysis, cold though it may be. So tell me, from what source mana?"_

Elazul shook his head, his hand going automatically to his core. The crack remained, though the pain that had been increasing again over the past few days had dulled and retreated. Just like when… "Ren," he answered. "It had to have been. She even said something about spirits, but she couldn't really remember. It felt the same as now…" he let the rest trail off, Vadise was clearly not listening anymore.

_"Spirits,"_ she said quietly. _"The elementals? She was gathering spirits?"_

"Yes, well, more like tripping over them," he said. "I don't think she deliberately went out to look for any."

_"How many had she…obtained?"_

Elazul thought back. Trying to put together Ren and the twins' often conflicting statements on the subject was no easy task, but he managed a conclusion. "Six?"

Vadise nodded, apparently this made sense to her. _"I see. I said previously that I sensed the influence of the mana sword about you. Now I am not so sure. Perhaps it was merely the touch of the spirits, for they too are part of the goddess' soul…and yet…"_

"And yet?" Elazul repeated when the dragon faded out. He felt nervous now, the strained tone from his core ringing so loudly in his ears he was certain even Vadise could hear. Something about this was not sitting well with him.

_"Kesta was no channeler. The powers of the spirits were never hers to command. As a child, many assumed she would take up that role, the spirits responded so easily to her, but she never tapped them. I believe she was always far more interested in them as personalities than power sources. As the mana knight, she spoke often to the spirits, took their advice, communed with them, but never once channeled a spell. Many assumed that it was out of respect. With the mana sword in hand and Viridian at her side, she needed no other weapons, and spurned such excess._

_"But I was her friend, and knew the truth. She still could not. Though the goddess called her daughter and the spirits flocked to her like siblings, she could not draw upon their power. Not once. Not ever."_

"But obviously she did."

_"In order for that to be so, she must have changed in fundamentals. It is not something that could have been overcome by sheer desire or willpower, only a change in the basic make-up of that which determines what we are…both physical and mental, an alteration of the very soul."_

Elazul realized he'd been pacing back and forth only when he stopped. "It can't possibly be a good change, not if it left her like _that_. The further involved she became with spirits, the less she remembered...and I think it was doing more than just mental damage. Whatever she did, it knocked her out for three days. The twins told me later she might as well have been dead." He frowned, thinking back. "It wasn't the first time either. I can't help but feel…" he stopped, noticing a strange look on Vadise's face.

_"That is not good,"_ she said, but almost thoughtfully. Slowly she stood up and took up pacing where Elazul had left off, a measured distance between the tree line and the mana stone. _"No,"_ she murmured, mostly to herself. _"I see it, I see it now…ah, Kesta, what a tangled web you have woven for yourself!"_ Returning to the crystal she stood still for a long time, gazing into its depths, though the stone showed no change.

"Well?" Elazul finally broke into her reverie; his nerves were not up to this sort of stalling at the moment. Vadise looked up, but her gaze remained distant.

_"It is, in a way, simple, and yet infinitely complex. You would see it too, if you were born somewhat earlier, you could not miss the connection."_

"Yes, well, you're the one with millennia of experience. Just pare it down for me." Trying to get the dragon's attention away from whatever cosmic scheme she was looking at was a lost cause.

_"Do you know how the Jumi were able to heal others?"_ Vadise spoke in an almost musical, story-telling voice. _"Those stones you wear so nicely, that mimic the deepest formation of the earth, are formed of mana, the binding force of all life. It is bound to your body, your soul, and keeps you alive beyond the generations of any human-based life form."_

"I don't need a biology lesson, Vadise." Elazul tried again, and finally she focused on him.

_"I know far more about your people than you do. I have known your race from its conception to what I thought was its end. Do not tell me what you do or do not already know. I only wish I had the time right now to make you truly understand…"_ She waited for a moment, but Elazul only stared back, trying to will her to get to the point.

Vadise sighed. _"I will be as brief as I can. When the Jumi cried, they divided their very souls, taking some of the mana concentrated in those stones and giving it to another. In doing so, they shortened their own lives, bit by bit, and gave a part of themselves to those they healed. A connection would be forged, however small, with each person revived. That is why the healing took the form of tears. Only those they cared enough for to bond with, to cry for, would receive such a blessing."_ She was watching him intently now. _"And that is why Jumi cores cannot be healed by conventional magic. Only the gift of another's soul could repair such a gap."_

Elazul couldn't find anything to say to that, his mind rather blanked at the implications. Luckily, Vadise was more than willing to continue. _"Do you see? I think you do. Kesta was part of the mana clan, those who clung tightest to the great tree, who protected, tended and loved it. They were infused with the power of the goddess, who spoke with them and even lived among them at one time. Though Kesta was born long past that age, after the sorceress separated them from the tree, she still carried that legacy in her blood. To take such a shining, vibrant source of mana and place it in this drying, faded world? Of course the spirits were drawn to her."_

"They were not lending her power, they were seeking it!" Elazul exclaimed suddenly.

_"Yes, but listen. I did not draw the parallel to your own people for mere reminiscence. The spirits of this age are dying. They ran to her for healing, but in order to do so, she must be giving them part of herself. She is breaking her soul into fragments. Each spirit that finds her furthers the divide. Do you see? It does not stop at spirits either. She sends part to Viridian, fueling a rapid growth, an attempted return to former glory. And part she gives to one she loves, who otherwise would die."_

"She didn't know," Elazul protested. "I'm sure she didn't know."

_"Would it have made a difference, do you think?"_ Vadise tilted her head slightly, peering at him. _"You do not accept another's concern easily, do you." _ She sighed loudly. _"Perhaps I am simply a hopeless romantic, and she would have done the same for anyone. Believe what you will then, Jumi. The facts remain, I see no other explanation. That you have some sort of connection to her is clear."_

"But that happened in that tower."

_"Leires would have strengthened the bond, not created it. You will have to take my word on that, since you obviously do not want the long version. Then there is Viridian. The mana dragon fell in the war with the sorceress, struck down by Drakonis himself. That was never in question, it was witnessed by many. His rebirth in this time is puzzling, but it is obviously a true rebirth. He retains nothing of his former self, I have questioned him thoroughly. So why then does he retain his bond to his dragoon?" _Vadise waited a moment before answering herself. _"Because she willed it. She re-created the bond unconsciously, because she could not imagine being otherwise."_

"And as he grows stronger, he draws on her? Just as the spirits?"

_"He has matured rather quickly, do you not think?"_

"Did you tell him this?" Elazul glanced uneasily towards the outer glade. "That he could be contributing to her problems?"

_"No. I do not believe he has the maturity to handle such knowledge."_

Elazul's eyes widened. _And I do? Is that what you're saying?_ he wanted to yell, but exerting all of that supposed maturity he managed to stay silent. Vadise's gaze wandered now, drifting around the glade. She seemed edgy, defensive.

"_I wish I had known!"_ she burst out suddenly._ "If only I had felt something, sensed something, from the beginning. Drakonis knew, he knew and must have begun putting things in motion from that very instant! If he could know, why not I? I could have helped her, guided her before it got this bad!"_ She shook her head back and forth before staring at Elazul again.

"Well excuse me," he snapped, catching an almost accusatory look in her eye. "For not doing a better job of handling a problem I knew nothing about!" He spun away from her, staring at the mana stone instead. The crystal's light seemed harsher now, irregular and glaring. It hurt his eyes, but he couldn't look away.

_If she had never gotten involved with us, with me and my problems, would she have found the spirits faster, been able to focus? If Sandra had never tried to kill her for caring, if she had never tried to heal a broken core, never climbed the moon tower again after Pearl…would she have been strong enough to resist Drakonis? Have I caused this, despite what Pearl said, despite what Sierra said…was _Viridian_ right after all?_

He placed his hand against the crystal, flat, as if he could block out the light that forced its way into his soul. _I should have left. Should have left after that first trip to Gato, after Sandra showed up and Rubens died. I was going to! Why, why in all the convoluted idiocy of my mind did I follow her back to Domina? If I had taken Pearl and headed west, never looked back, perhaps things would be different._

_At the very least, I would be off being useless somewhere else by now, and not knowing about it, instead of here, informed but still useless._

_No,_ a cold voice of reason broke in._ You'd be dead by now. You and Pearl both, because Sandra would have followed you and eventually she would have won. Without Ren to worry her, to be that unknown factor, she wouldn't have hesitated at all._

It was the same stupid analogy he'd used to Drakonis, off the top of his head, simply to throw the other off. That didn't make it any less true, of course. Looking past the surface of the stone, he almost felt he could see her there again, though he was pretty sure it was just his imagination this time.

Ren didn't seem to feel the need to stop and understand what was going on, she'd just barge right on ahead and figure it out on the way. She certainly wouldn't be sitting here, mentally whining about whose fault it was. He could almost _see_ her now, yelling at Vadise to shut up and stop picking over things, then grabbing Sierra by the hand and jumping down the nearest gate to the Underworld.

The image was somewhat amusing, and Elazul only half-contained a burst of laughter. _Goddess, only Ren could make me laugh at a time like this, and she's not even _here. _I'm going to have to do something about that._

_Someone she called on for aid._ Drakonis' words. Everything out of his mouth was a lie, Vadise had said, but Elazul knew the best liars interspersed truth with the false, so one never knew which was which. He suspected the dream-connection had been forged by Ren in the first place, and the red dragon had intercepted it. He wondered how she'd figured out how to do it, someone who couldn't remember the days of the week half the time.

Still, if Ren, who threw herself into his troubles with such gleeful abandon and never backed down, if _she _was asking for his aid in whatever way, who was he to say no? She believed in him, trusted that he would help, because _she_ would. It was as simple as that. It didn't matter what might have been, there was no way in hell he could run away from this _now_. He didn't know if he could muster up Ren's complete disregard for logic, but he _could_ stop wasting time feeling sorry for himself.

Besides, if he could find some way to fix this, maybe, just maybe it would make up for the fact that he couldn't give her what she really wanted. Despite the attempts of every other female in the world to insist otherwise.

_"What is so amusing?"_ Vadise asked as Elazul stepped back from the crystal.

"Just taking a moment for a self-indulgent pity contest. I'm over it. For now."

_"You are not taking this seriously."_ Vadise's eye narrowed.

"I am." Elazul matched her stare for as long as she wanted to hold it. Finally she looked away.

_"We shall see,"_ she temporized. _"Meanwhile, if you are done making yourself laugh…?"_

"I never cease to amuse myself. No, don't get angry," he mimicked the tone the dragon had used earlier. "I _was_ thinking. I seem to do my best problem solving when I'm depressed. I see…a flaw in your theory."

_"Oh?"_ Vadise still sounded mildly irritated.

"I don't have any trouble believing it. I can easily see Ren splitting up her soul among spirits, friends and generally anyone who asked, simply by virtue of being a ridiculously nice person." Elazul nearly smiled at the thought and hoped Vadise was too busy being annoyed to comment. "But she had problems remembering from the beginning. Before she met me, before even Viridian. Before any of the spirits. It was what drew me to her in the first place, people around Domina talking about some girl who'd lost her memory. So tell me, if the spirits made it worse…where did the problem start?"

The irritation drifted away from the dragon's face, replaced by an intense contemplation. _"I…do not know."_ Elazul was startled to hear a faint undertone of falsehood in her voice.

"Don't you?" he pressed. Vadise frowned.

_"I may have an inkling. A slight suspicion, but it will require more thought than I have time to give it. The end result is the same. She has broken down her own defenses and left herself vulnerable. Drakonis took advantage of that-"_

"How?" Elazul let the previous subject drop and jumped on that one instead. Vadise glared at him, but he kept going, full of some propelling energy from nowhere. "That's what matters, then, isn't it? You said yourself that he must have planned this from the moment she reappeared. How did he know?"

_"You tell me,"_ Vadise sounded almost sulky now, and he really had to try hard not to laugh again. _"You seem to be a decently intelligent person today."_

"All right." Elazul took the challenge, thinking out loud. "Which bond has he broken? Not mine, he didn't even seem to realize I existed until this moment. It startled him. One of the spirits? No…" Pieces began falling into place, clicking together like a well made puzzle. "Vadise! When Viridian, the _old_ Viridian, bonded with Ren-"

_"Kesta."_

"Whatever. What form did it take?"

Vadise blinked. _"A sword. A rather large, impractical blade with-"_

"-a long hook on the end and a really fake looking red stone on top. A grand swordbreaker of a weapon that only a dragon would design, and only Ren would be obsessive enough to learn how to use."

_"What are you saying?" _ He had her full attention now. Finally.

"The day she disappeared, the day she suddenly decided a trip to the Underworld would make a good vacation plan, she acquired a strange sword. No, _Viridian_ did. Justified grabbing it in his warped little dragon brain, and brought it straight to her. She took it, wandered off and didn't come back. Coincidence?"

_"Where did he get it?"_

"Stupid rabbit-merchant."

_"And where did _he_ get it?"_

"Who cares? It was obviously planted. Don't you see? Drakonis gave her that sword, lured her to the Underworld. Viridian's sword. A dragon's bond to his dragoon. And right after that, Viridian went crazy. Is this only obvious to me?" Elazul asked when she continued to look straight through him.

_"No…to re-forge a bond broken long ago, warped and twisted by whatever powers he possesses now, to force his way…"_ Vadise looked slightly ill. _"I do not like this. How could he have come by the blade?"_

Elazul shook his head. "That's a little beyond me. You said Viridian was struck down by Drakonis. You assumed Re…the mana knight was killed as well. Perhaps then."

_"A thousand years ago? And you think he held onto it all this time? As what, a memento?"_ Vadise was scornful.

"A trophy," he replied easily. "Surely you who claims to be so knowledgeable about Jumi could understand some peoples' need to keep a part of that which they kill."

_"I cannot believe you would even make such a reference. I am beginning to wonder if you are suffering from a little overexposure to that mana stone…"_ Vadise broke off, sitting up. _"Stones!"_

"Yes?" he prompted.

_"You just said, a red stone on the sword! Viridian bound his soul in green."_

"Perhaps Drakonis wanted to match?" Elazul found the words slipping out on their usual bypass of mental filters.

Vadise hissed between her teeth. _"Enough already! Pay attention! Have you ever heard of the Eyes of Flame?"_

Elazul thought about this. "Right up there with the Sword of Mana, flammie scales, ancient summoning books, and well…mana crystals and such," he waved at the stone. "On every treasure hunter's impossible-dream list. That list has been rapidly narrowed for me in the last few days, so by all means tell me they exist as well."

_"Most of the true Eyes have long been lost to time, used up, broken, or otherwise destroyed. Do you know what they do?"_

"Not reliably. They were more the goal of power-hungry mages, yes? World domination, endless magic at one's fingertips. Not really my thing."

_"No, I suppose not."_ Vadise looked calmer now. _"The sorceress Anise created the Eyes from the mana tree itself, but their power was corrupted. Taken by force from the goddess, they were cursed, and whoever touched them became warped. They brought out the darkest recesses of the soul, expanded and glorified the evil, selfish desires within everyone. The process was subtle in some cases, and obvious in others, but none who laid a hand on the red stones remained unchanged."_

Elazul kicked at the moss on the ground thoughtfully. "So Drakonis has found one of these Eyes?"

_"He had it from the beginning. Most likely it was given him by the sorceress, perhaps as a gift to secure their alliance. Perhaps it was what drove him down a darker path, perhaps it merely amplified what was already brewing within him. I do not care. He has used it several times since then, in his various forays into human or faerie affairs."_

Vadise glanced towards the outer glade. _"I have always suspected it was the red stone that corrupted Sierra's brother. Its power was very much weakened at that point, but it would have been enough to draw an impulsive youth like Larc. However,"_ she seemed to shake off that memory in favor of a better one. _"I assumed it was drained completely when it did not show up in the battle that threw him to the Underworld. Apparently I was wrong."_

"Maybe its power is being bolstered by the sword?" Vadise did not reply, but she nodded slightly to acknowledge the possibility. "What a mess," Elazul muttered. "If Drakonis is using the Eye of Flame to corrupt a half broken bond between Ren and Viridian…did he think of that on the spot or did he somehow plan this out for a thousand years?" He could feel his grasp on the subject drifting away. He shook his head rapidly. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter."

_"I suppose not."_ Vadise looked like she was thinking about it anyway. _"The important thing is, we must separate her from that sword."_

"You're kidding me." Elazul stared at her in disbelief, trying to imagine getting Ren to let go of a weapon in the best of times. "What are you going to do, have Viridian float down there and ask for it back?"

_"No. I think that is your job."_

"You still think so, do you?" Elazul wandered over and retrieved his sword-belt. _Goddess save me, I'm actually considering it._ "Right, I'd last about ten seconds. Let's be realistic here."Vadise only shrugged in her odd, draconic way. "But…someone might be able to help."

_"Sierra is quite skilled, but-"_

"Actually, I was assuming she'd be busy staving off her brother, who I suspect will not like the interference anymore than Drakonis does. No, I was thinking of Blackpearl."

_"You would bring your guardian into such danger?"_ Vadise did not seem to be disapproving, merely curious.

"The relationship between knight and guardian was born for the battlefield, was it not?" he asked, more to convince himself than anything else. "She wants to help Ren as much as I do. At least, Pearl does, and if the only way she thinks she can be useful is by dredging up that past self, I can't deny that to her. Not when I… " Elazul broke off. _Not when I know what it's like to desperately want to be strong enough, and find yourself lacking. _He really didn't feel like laying out all his thoughts on the subject to the dragon. "Anyway, we need all the help we can get. I might have some issues with Blackpearl, but I can hardly make any arguments against her skill."

_"I do not think force is going to solve this,"_ Vadise cautioned.

"You think I like the idea of trying to corner her into a fight again?" Elazul snapped back. "By all means give me a better one!"

The dragon sighed, an almost pained sound._ "I cannot."_

"Then we might as well go with it and hope something better shows up along the way." Elazul tightened the belt buckle and looked up again. "I think you should ask her, though. She doesn't particularly like me, and you seem to know her from before."

_"Not very well, and I do not have time to explain it,"_ said Vadise quietly. _"If it is even my story to tell."_

"I wasn't asking." Elazul wondered why everyone assumed he wanted the long version.

_"She is not such a horrible person, though."_

"Well let's see, the first time I met her, she pretty much told me to go kill myself. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Still," Elazul shrugged. "I might have been willing to forget it, practically had forgotten it, if she hadn't persisted in bringing it up again the second time. That, I'm afraid, really sealed it." He finished messing with the fastenings on his cloak and stood waiting, but Vadise remained immobile. "Or maybe you think I'm taking it a bit personally?"

_"She has walked a longer and harder road than you,"_ the dragon said, but without criticism. _"You of all people should not be surprised that she acts harshly."_

Elazul nearly flinched, remembering his earlier tirade against Sierra, among other events. "That doesn't make her any easier to get along with."

_"I know,"_ Vadise said as she stood. _"Possibly it is an overall Jumi trait."_ With that, she left the clearing, leaving him to wonder if her tone had been jokingly sarcastic or deeply bitter.

* * *

Blackpearl apparently hadn't moved in however many hours Elazul had been sleeping; she was still standing by Vadise's tree. Next to her, Sierra was talking in a low voice, and occasionally the tall Jumi nodded in response. As he approached, Blackpearl turned her head and watched him. It was one of those 'something that crawled up out of the sewer' looks. _Ah, I can see this is going to go well._

He tried to remind himself that she probably wasn't disgusted at him, per se, just at herself for ever having been weak enough to depend on him, but it didn't really help. He had seen that look of dismissal before, and oddly enough it had been a Jumi that time as well. Elazul allowed himself half a not-very-nice smile at that thought.

Blackpearl's eyes narrowed. "What is so funny?" she asked.

Elazul shrugged. "For a moment, you reminded me of someone."

"Who?" She frowned slightly.

"You really don't want to know."

Obviously she did, but she had too much pride to make an issue over it. Instead, she turned to Vadise, but the dragon ignored both her and Elazul, and spoke directly to Sierra. _"We need to talk."_

The dragoon hopped off the tree root and trailed after Vadise to the far side of the glade, leaving Elazul and Blackpearl pretty much alone. Blackpearl immediately decided this would be a good time to examine the canopy in detail and proceeded to studiously ignore him.

_Thanks, Vadise, for that rousing show of support,_ he thought. _I hate dragons._ His eyes wandered over to the last occupant of the glade, curled into a relatively small ball nearby. Viridian's eyes were open, but he was staring glassily at the trees opposite him, lost in thought, or possibly just lost. Elazul thought about trying to cheer him up again, but that would just be sadistic. _What we need to do, I bet, is get him and Ren back in the same vicinity. Maybe it would spark something._

_Or maybe it would destroy them both._

Elazul took a surreptitiously deep breath and turned back to Blackpearl. "I need your help," he said, before he could change his mind.

Blackpearl looked down from the leaves like he'd just sprouted a second head, and possibly a third. "Oh?"

"Yes." Two people could play the single syllable game.

"Because I owe you one?" Blackpearl asked derisively.

"No, because I'm _asking_ for it," he retorted. "But if you absolutely have to put everything on _scales_ then, yes, you owe me one. Or six. Or twelve, I've actually lost track. I wasn't planning on bringing it up at all!" Elazul sighed. He should have stuck to one word answers.

"I have little love for this world," Blackpearl said quietly. "Or most of the people in it. Why should I help without some sort of _reason?_"

"Because I don't have the _time_ or the _mental energy_ to think of a good reason right now! Apparently Ren's got some sort of crazy mind-warping sword, and I will freely admit to not being good enough to get it from her. You might be, though. There, does that pad your ego enough to get you to try?"

Blackpearl stared. "It might have been, if you had left off the last bit."

"Yes, well, I wanted _Vadise_ to ask you," he muttered.

"The white dragon? The one who lent aid to the Jumi for centuries, and then withdrew her support at our most critical moment?" Blackpearl shook her head slowly. "I do not think she would be a more effective bargainer."

Elazul found himself at a loss for words. "Somehow," he managed at last. "She failed to mention that."

"I care not. I have no quarrel with her. In fact we have already spoken at length, though I noticed she avoided the subject quite neatly." Blackpearl shrugged. "The past that far back no longer concerns me. In fact, very little concerns me at this point, save finding Florina, and possibly removing that traitor Alexandra from the population. Do you really want someone who _does not care_ to fight for you?"

Elazul looked away, to the side. "Pearl would care. Does that mean nothing to you?"

"I am not her. She is shade of my past, a person who no longer exists."

"Obviously she still _exists_," he hissed back. "You changed to her for a _reason_, something you can't just shut away and pretend never happened." Blackpearl gave another one-shouldered shrug and went back to watching the leaves. "Let me talk to her."

"No." The dark eyed knight looked down again.

"What?"

"I said no. I will not let you take the easy way out like that. Convince me. Prove to _me_ there is something worth fighting for."

Elazul took a step backwards, then made himself stop. Everything was just some sort of test from these people, wasn't it. _Fine, you left yourself open. _"Florina," he said slowly, and watched her focus on him immediately. "If you found her, all concerns of Sandra aside, what would you do?" Blackpearl didn't answer, but he didn't really expect her to. "She was dying, was she not? Could you change that?"

Her eyes narrowed, but he plowed on ahead. Either she would help or she was going to kill him, but he figured it was the only way she'd even listen. "Would you bring her back to the same world Alexandra stole her from? Take her back to that dead city? Let her cry out the last of her soul over the shadows that live there?"

"You do not know her," Blackpearl finally spoke. "You should think very carefully before you try to use her name like this."

"Think?" Elazul snorted. "I've been thinking. It is, believe it or not, something I do a lot. You already _told_ me you don't care about anything else, and now you're trying to silence me on the one subject that matters? I'll just take that as a good sign. So think about this. Ren has…some sort of connection to the mana sword."

Blackpearl sighed. "All that to throw a _fable_ at me?"

"It's no fable," Elazul shot back. "Though I was headed towards that opinion myself until recently. It's real, or it was, and if we can get her back, maybe we can retrieve it," he continued quickly so she couldn't interrupt. "And if we can use it to bring back the goddess' tree, then maybe Florina could be brought to a place where she could revive."

"That is a thin line of reasoning to throw my hopes behind."

Elazul sighed. "That's not the half of it, though. If Drakonis gets his way," he hesitated, realizing he actually didn't know _what_ Drakonis planned in any detail. "Well, to listen to Vadise talk, there might not be much of a world left, in any condition. Then there would be no point to any of it, would there? What would Florina do in a world destroyed by a dragon's wrath?"

Blackpearl was silent for a long time. "Try to save it," she said, in the softest tone he had ever heard from her. "And disappear." Elazul waited, but she seemed lost in the past somewhere.

"Well?" He asked, trying to break into her thoughts. "There you have a reason, and part of another one, if you can bring yourself to think about the rest of the world for a minute. Will you take it, or will you continue to hide behind your better half and hope that next time she calls you out, it will all have gone away?"

"My better half?" Blackpearl remained surprisingly impassive at that. "Are you trying to insult me into helping now?"

"Merely voicing an opinion. You're welcome to disagree. If you really want to." Elazul waited for a second, but she didn't respond. "Look, either you're going to help or you're not. If not…I'll just have to do it myself."

Blackpearl looked mildly skeptical. "You'll die."

"Yeah, probably." Elazul nearly grinned. "But I'm not going to fool myself into thinking you'll feel terribly guilty about it. Besides, if what Vadise says is true, I should have been dead a while ago, right? Everything since then is just borrowed time."

The other Jumi frowned at that, and for the first time, Elazul thought she might be seriously considering. "She was…interesting, that friend of yours," she mused. "I couldn't quite place it, but there was something intriguing about her. I will help if I can," she concluded abruptly and started to cross the glade to where Vadise and Sierra were still talking. Elazul let himself breath normally again.

"I bet you did this to a lot of knights, back in the day," he muttered, following her.

"How could you tell?"

Elazul figured that was a rhetorical question and ignored it. "You were training Alexandra when she snapped, weren't you."

Blackpearl whirled around, cold fury in her eyes, but it faded as she regarded him for a moment. "Pray you turn out better than her," she said quietly, and turned away again.

* * *

"He will not listen to me, Vadise!" Sierra was insisting loudly. "It would be best for you to go…"

"_I cannot leave the stone,_" Vadise replied. "_I agree that Jajara would hear me better, but there is no help for it. Tell him you speak for me, as he well knows."_ She glanced up as Elazul and Blackpearl walked over.

"So you think Drakonis will go for the other crystal first?" Elazul asked.

Sierra sighed. "We are not certain, but it seems likely. Jajara's fortress is better defended than the forest, but he himself is weaker than Vadise in his current state."

"Current state?"

_"When the other dragons and I defeated Drakonis, Jajara used too much power and nearly followed him to the Underworld. Drawing on the spirit of darkness, he managed to hold himself back from that fate, but he remains…half alive. He is something like the zombies that wander areas where the walls between our world and the land of the dead are thin."_

"An undead dragon. This just gets better and better. Are you sure he's not in league with Drakonis?"

_"Yes,"_ Vadise sighed. _"I believe Drakonis tried to recruit him, a long time ago, but Jajara knew he would never share power for long. He is…temperamental, and only gets more as time goes by. Due to his nature, his powers are weakening faster than mine or Akravator's, and it has made him quite defensive."_

"Then there is the matter of his dragoon," Sierra added. "Who is nearly as strong as Jajara himself now, the way things are going."

_"I would suggest you avoid the other if at all possible, he has grown even stranger than his master over the years. I will open the portal directly to Jajara's chambers, so hopefully it will not be necessary to pass through him at all."_

Sierra snorted derisively. "If there is a power trip to be involved with, Irzoile will not be left out. It is far more than I can hope for not to have to deal with him again."

"Irzoile?" Elazul had heard that name before. "The last of the Enaanshalc line? The one they called Deathbringer?"

_"Is not that a little before your time?"_ Vadise queried curiously.

"Well yes, I suppose, but most cities were still wrapped up in sweeping the remains of his armies out of their streets when I was young. Younger," he corrected, as Blackpearl shot him a look. "I thought he died with his empire."

"One could only wish it so," Sierra muttered, and jumped off the tree root she'd been sitting on. "Well, it is very nice to hear you know your history, but we have things to do." She paced quickly to the entrance to the crystal glade and stood waiting.

Blackpearl followed her without comment, but Elazul waited for Vadise. "Did I hit a sore point?" he asked.

_"You do have a talent for it."_ Vadise sounded slightly amused, though her face was still drawn in worried lines._ "Try to keep your silence around Jajara, he is not so tolerant of such things."_

Suddenly there was a scramble of claws and scales in the corner of his vision, and Viridian shot between them and the smaller glade. _"I'm going too!"_ he shouted, with far more volume than necessary.

Elazul wracked his mind for a good excuse, but Vadise was quicker. _"You must stay,"_ she said easily. _"I may very well be wrong about Drakonis' next choice. If they come here first, we must defend the crystal."_

To Elazul's immense surprise, the green dragon subsided immediately, though he still looked unhappy about it. _"Fine,"_ he muttered, and his eyes roved over to the Jumi. _"Try not to screw it up this time."_

Elazul just stepped around him and brushed through the curtain.

* * *

There were no complications with the portal this time. It opened easily into a large, dark room whose air smelled faintly of something dead. Just enough light to see by sprang from weak lamps high on the walls, but it didn't do much to brighten up the place. Even the glow from the mana crystal behind them seemed dull and subdued, illuminating nothing past a small circle around it.

"Nice place," said Elazul.

_"I happen to like it,"_ a deep, rasping voice came from directly behind him. The three newcomers spun back towards the crystal, as a dark shape uncrouched from the other side.

It was obviously a dragon, as the pale light from the stone briefly touched its hide in passing, but as unlike the others as could be. Jajara's form was birdlike, resting on powerful hind legs, with a long, flat tail balancing a square short-necked head on the other end. Tattered, spiny sails seemed to aspire to being wings on either side of his spine, but did little but droop listlessly and add to the overall image of decay.

His hide was patchy, overly taut in some places and sagging in others, and the clear white of old bone showed through at several joints and along his spine. Despite this, the dragon's steps were surprisingly silent, and his black eyes glittered clearly in the lamplight.

Jajara's gaze wandered over Elazul and Blackpearl, dismissed them as unfamiliar and unimportant, and settled on Sierra. _"I suspected you would show up soon. I felt Akravator's death, and knew it could not be long before Vadise decided I would need…help. Deathbringer and I were taking bets on how long it would take."_

"Stop calling him by that ridiculous title." Only Sierra could get away with _scolding_ a dragon, Elazul thought. "He is your dragoon now, and no longer an emperor of any sort. You will only encourage his tendencies towards-"

_"I will encourage whatever I wish, little pup. Just because you see nothing to admire in Irzoile's ambition, does not mean it is not admirable at all. Come, Sierra," _The dragon paced around her, nearly in a circle. _"This is an old argument. Surely Vadise did not send you here to gripe about my choice of dragoon?"_

"No." Sierra took a deep breath. "We suspect that Drakonis' dragoon and his new ally will come after your crystal next-"

_"Ahhh, that would explain my recent problem with…vermin," _Jajara mused into the middle of her sentence. _"You are late, and your aid is not needed. They are here already, I have trapped them in the bowels of the fortress…Deathbringer will deal with them there."_

Elazul saw Sierra's stance shift slightly, as if she wanted to run from the room and check, but she stopped herself. "This is not so simple a matter, Jajara. Larc's companion is Viridian's former dragoon."

_"The mana knight? Whatever her name was…"_ Jajara laughed now, a low wheezing sound that seemed to catch in his throat at every breath. _"Do not think you can trick me. Such things are long, long past. Vadise was always a fool, clinging to Viridian and the tree while the rest of us went out and tried to make something of the world. Now she brings back her favorite shades to try and haunt us."_ He swung his tail in an idle, mocking manner. _"I am not so nostalgic."_

Elazul started forward, but Blackpearl laid a hand on his shoulder and pressed downward, halting him. When he glanced back, she was fixed on Sierra, but she shook her head ever so slightly.

"She has slain Akravator already," the white dragoon insisted. "What other could do so, so easily? Viridian stands reborn in Vadise's forest, and if that doesn't herald the return of a greater power, what does? Only the chosen of the goddess could bring back the dead, a thousand years later!"

_"Viridian has returned? Been reborn?"_ He shook his head in amusement. _"I see Vadise's plan now. She will take this 'new' dragon, set him up as a leader once again, a young, impressionable leader so she can be the true voice behind the throne. Threatening us with the supposed power of the goddess…perhaps Drakonis is not behind this at all."_

"Jajara!" Sierra looked truly alarmed now. "I did not think it was possible, but your dragoon must be warping your mind! That is _Deathbringer's_ reasoning if I have ever heard it!"

_"And why not? Are not dragon and dragoon supposed to be of one mind? No, save your attempts to argue for someone interested," _ Jajara flicked a foreclaw at her. _"Go back, Sierra. I did not aid in Drakonis' downfall only to bow before Vadise's demands."_

"I will not go back. Even if you have decided not to take this seriously, I do. I came here to stop Larc, to stop Drakonis, and I will not leave until I have accomplished that!"

_"Well,"_ Jajara snarled. _"Far be it from me to interfere in your little family quarrel. You only had to _say." He switched languages suddenly, a rapid firing of words under his breath, and suddenly the floor dropped away beneath them, plunging everything into darkness.

* * *

_A/N: So yes, this chapter ended up being all dialogue and exposition, but the next one should be nearly straight action, so hopefully it'll make up for it…_


	26. A Truer Bond

* * *

26 – A Truer Bond

* * *

"That went well," Elazul commented, slowly picking himself up off the floor. The descent to the lower levels had been mind numbingly fast at first, but slowed at the last instant, dropping them at the bottom just hard enough to hurt and not quite enough to break anything. _Thanks a lot, Jajara. _He brushed off his clothes and checked to make sure he still had his sword before realizing no one had told him to shut up yet. He looked around in confusion. "Where's Sierra?"

Blackpearl glanced down from the ceiling and made some vague measuring motions with her hands. "On the other side of that wall, I suspect," she said, pointing to an extremely solid looking stone barrier.

They were in what seemed to be a hallway, though the light from the single overhead lamp didn't reach far enough to judge its length. No doors were visible on either side, but Elazul assumed it had to go somewhere eventually. "So, which way?"

"I doubt it matters," Blackpearl peered down the hall, then held out a hand. Her hammer coalesced instantly. Elazul tensed, thinking she had sensed an attack from the darkness, but the taller Jumi only lifted the weapon to the ceiling. Hooking the tapered end into the fastening for the light, she twisted, and with a snap the chain broke. Lowering the hammer, she retrieved the lamp from the end and held it out to Elazul. "Here. Make yourself useful."

The amount of deftness she showed with that heavy looking weapon was surprising to say the least, but Elazul didn't particularly feel like tossing compliments. "Always happy to help," he muttered, taking the lamp and heading down the hallway. They hadn't progressed very far before the light dipped, illuminating a set of stairs in front of them. "Hmm, is down really a good direction?"

"Just keep moving," Blackpearl said from behind. "Unless you want to stop and make a map."

Elazul shrugged and started down the stairs. There were less than ten of them, and then another hallway, with further halls leading off it at right angles. He turned down one that looked the most likely to loop back to where Sierra was, but after it took them up another set of stairs that proceeding to double back and tunnel under itself, he gave up. The next stretch of hallway was lined on either side by wide-bolted metal doors, which broke up the stone monotony, but didn't really add much to the atmosphere. Elazul twisted the handle on one, and it swung open easily, revealed an empty, dark room, full of dead air that smelled like it hadn't been moved for a while. Which was good because the rusted chains dangling from the walls and suspicious stains across the floor hinted it probably hadn't seen the most savory of uses.

"Anything?" Blackpearl asked, hand on another door.

"No." Elazul shut the room again. He was just about to head for another, when there was an unearthly shriek, and the door Blackpearl had been opening slammed back with a bang. A mass of grayish skinned humanoids swarmed out, falling over each other as they reached for her.

Blackpearl drove the head of her hammer into the nearest one and it nearly disintegrated, dropping pieces everywhere. "Zombies," she said, as if this sort of thing happened every day. Swinging again, she caught two more and sent them flying back into the cell, taking others with them. Elazul grabbed the open door and flung it shut, ignoring the crunching sounds from some of the zombies who still had limbs in the way. With another shove, the latch clicked shut.

"Someone down here has a really unhealthy obsession." Elazul leaned against the door, feeling it shake it its socket as things crashed against the other side. Up and down the hall doors were rattling now, as their occupants screamed for similar attention. "And since the halls are a bit narrow for Jajara, I'm going to say it's the dragoon."

"They did not call him Deathbringer for nothing," Blackpearl said, shaking zombie pieces off her hammer. "Come on, we're not here to clean up after him."

Elazul shot a last look at the row of doors and followed her quickly away. "I hope Sierra didn't end up in one of those cells."

"I suspect she can take care of herself," Blackpearl stated. "Besides, none of them are locked. Zombies may be unable to figure out latches, but Sierra should not have that problem."

"I was just expressing a vague sort of concern, you don't _have_ to shoot down every word out of my mouth, you know. No, forget it," he said quickly, before she could comment on _that_ too. "Let's keep looking."

Several unremarkable turns and hallways later, they came upon a stretch that was slightly better used, with torches spaced evenly along both sides of the wall. Elazul took it as a good sign and followed the lit path; it had to lead _somewhere_. It turned out to lead to another hallway, but this time they could hear some sort of commotion ahead. Metal on metal, the sounds of a battle.

Ren? Sierra? Larc? Random zombies? Elazul didn't care, it sounded like progress to him, and he ran for it, Blackpearl close behind. He drew up short just before an archway that opened into a wider room, a convergence point for several doors and halls.

Near the middle of the room, Ren was locked in combat with a huge suit of armor. Well, presumably there was a person in it somewhere, but no gaps showed between jet black plates, and the visor of the helm was broken only by the barest slit. Elazul wondered how anyone could see out of something like that, or even move in all that metal, but it didn't seem to hamper this warrior any. That fact that he floated some six inches off the ground might have had something to do with it.

Elazul decided the black armor had to be Deathbringer. No mere animated artifact or zombie could be keeping pace with Ren, and they had obviously been going at it for some time. The general state of dust and debris that permeated the whole dungeon was thoroughly disturbed here, the already rotting furniture and wall hangings cracked and torn in the course of the fight. The combatants were so focused on each other, neither even noticed the arrival of the Jumi.

Ren pressed an attack, swiping at the point where the helm joined the shoulders, but Deathbringer drifted back before feinting to one side. The huge two-handed sword he wielded seemed falsely light as the armor itself as it swung back in a truer counterattack, and Ren was forced back again. She ducked and dodged around her opponent, but he didn't even turn. Raising his sword, he sliced through the very air and slipped through a rent in the dimensions.

He must have done this before, because Ren seemed unsurprised, looking around expectantly. Sure enough, the armor reappeared behind her, but only briefly, sliding back out of view as she turned.

Elazul figured the normal Ren would be frustrated and probably throwing things by now, but as she was, she seemed pretty unconcerned. Her eyes tracked the invisible path of the teleporting armor, and launched an attack just as the air split open again.

The sword struck with enough impact to pierce the chest armor. Deathbringer shot backwards, reopening the portal quickly, and a horrible scraping sound followed as the hook caught, wrenching the metal open like a can of preserves. An eerie, inhuman scream echoed around the walls.

"You're going to completely ruin your edge like that," Elazul said loudly. Ren's head shot up, picking him out easily among the shadows of the archway. Deathbringer took advantage of the distraction and opened another portal. The slice in his armor only widened as he jerked away, but he pulled himself through the gate and disappeared.

"Don't you _ever_ give it a rest?" Blackpearl sighed as she drew up beside him, hammer at the ready.

"No, afraid not," Elazul replied. "It's how I stay sane." He drew his sword slowly, still focused on Ren. He saw her tense, a precursor to some burst of movement, but the shift in balance was _backwards_.

"She's going to run!" Blackpearl exclaimed with surprise, and shot past him into the room. Ren turned and headed for an exit, but the Jumi got there first, blocking her path. Elazul started to circle behind her, but Blackpearl pointed a finger at him. "Stay back!"

"But I-" He could see Ren edging away from this new threat.

"You do not want to be in the middle of this!" Blackpearl snapped, and charged before Ren could decide on a different path. Her hammer whirled around with full force, aiming, so far as Elazul could tell, to kill.

Nothing less would have done. As Ren raised her sword, the weapons met with an impossibly loud crash, and she stumbled backwards. Only a little, though, and she ducked under the second swing and aimed for Blackpearl's side. The hammer whipped around and flicked the sword aside, but Ren pressed in again, strikes ringing like blows on an anvil.

Elazul backed away further. Blackpearl was right, he could barely track the path of this battle, much less keep up with it. Ren had given up on trying to escape, and both seemed fully in earnest now. It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt; Elazul suspected he hadn't quite thought this through. He watched Ren carefully, instinctively looking for an opening, though he doubted he'd find one.

It was absolutely amazing the way she moved. Blackpearl had a definite advantage in sheer force, but Ren was like water; the harder you struck, the further away it scattered, only to close again instantly. This was something he had only glimpsed previously, a skill that had emerged in brief spurts, only to disappear a second later.

_Ah, this is no time to be _admiring_ her!_ he reminded himself. Something was still not quite right here, and it took him a second to realize what it was. Throughout the battle with Deathbringer, and now with Blackpearl, Ren had said nothing.

Her utter silence was frightening, not a word or a gasp, not even when Blackpearl's hammer clipped her leg and sent her stumbling into the wall. She recovered, propelling herself from the stone before the dark-cored knight could follow up, and struck back, the scrape of sword against shaft the only sound.

It was strange; from his brief encounter with Drakonis, and Vadise's description, he would have assumed the dragon would have a thousand 'witty' things for his puppet to spout off. Not just that, but her face was impassive, with only the swift darting of her eyes as she tracked the other's movements indicating any interest.

Blackpearl seemed perfectly content with this. She matched silence for silence, focusing intently on each swing, each step she took. She swung the back end of the hammer at Ren's knees, then spun it around and sent the top towards her waist. Ren slid back, then slammed her hand on top of the hammer's head, shifting her whole weight onto it in a nearly impossible cartwheel. Her foot sliced past Blackpearl's head, but the Jumi ducked under it, and Ren used the change in height to finish her leap over the other's shoulder.

Landing easily, she launched a double attack that probably would have decapitated anyone not able to block it with seven feet of hammer. The battle came to a dead stop, the echoes of the last clash fading quickly into the dead air. Ren looked at the weapon that had managed to halt both of hers with an almost meditative contemplation. There was no sly smile at Blackpearl's obvious shock, no dismay at having been thwarted, nothing to indicate there was any kind of _thinking_ going on there at all.

"Say something already!" Elazul broke out, anything to break the unnatural silence. To his surprise, she looked. Her expression didn't change, but she turned ever so slightly. Blackpearl, as keen as Deathbringer had been, took advantage of it. Flipping her hammer quickly, she snagged the nearer sword under the spike and sent it flying across the room.

"Damn it, Pearl, wrong sword," Elazul muttered. It seemed very much like the sort of opportunity his true guardian would have wasted. He decided to make the most of it though, and dashed across the room to the fallen weapon. Ren shoved away from Blackpearl and did the same, but Elazul got there first. He had just enough time to grab the hilt, not quite enough to bring it around, but Ren skidded to a halt before he needed to. For a second, her blank eyes stared at him, then she spun back to Blackpearl, who stepped to block her path again.

Wrapping both hands around the red-hilted sword, she swung it down so fast it left a trail in the air behind it. Blackpearl tightened her grip and twisted the hammer, ready to deflect, but it didn't matter; Ren shifted direction, aiming for the weapon itself.

Sparks flew from the blade's edge as it struck the shaft square in the middle, and suddenly the hammer split, flickered, and disappeared entirely. Blackpearl stumbled backwards, but Ren didn't press the attack. She turned and disappeared down another hall.

"What happened?" Elazul rushed forward. Blackpearl had recovered her balance, and held one hand out in front of her. The hammer sprung easily back into being, and its wielder examined it critically.

"She disrupted it," she explained. "Severed the connecting mana that allows me to call it at will."

"You mean that thing's not _real_?"

"Real enough." Blackpearl shrugged and let the hammer disappear again. "It is a technique only the strongest knights employ, since you must forge a link between the weapon and your very core." She glanced at Elazul. "I would not recommend trying it in your state."

Elazul glared at her. Her frustrating calm was likely to drive him completely insane at this point. "Yes well, now that she knows how to break it, what in all hell are we supposed to do? You managed to ruin the only chance you got to end it _here_."

Blackpearl narrowed her eyes at him. "In a battle that intense, a split second's distraction does not allow much time for _choices_. You are welcome to see if you can do better," she started, a little more hotly, then grew thoughtful.

"What?" Elazul asked as she continued staring at him intently.

"She avoided you, I noticed."

"So? I doubt she found me much of a threat, not with _you_ in the room," he snapped back. Blackpearl shook her head, then turned and took the exit Ren had left by. "Wait!" Elazul ran after her. After a few steps he realized carrying two swords was damned awkward and wondered how Ren put up with it all the time. He shoved the extra one through his belt and hoped it didn't fall out somewhere. Possibly he should have just thrown it away, but that almost felt like sacrilege. "How are we going to fight her then?"

Blackpearl didn't turn. "I'll…think of something," she said. Her voice sounded strange, distant. Elazul didn't like that tone, but if they hesitated too long, they'd lose Ren completely.

"I would bet anything she's heading straight for Larc," he said, picking up the pace. "And where Larc is, I'd double that bet we'll find Sierra."

"I don't gamble," said Blackpearl, with perfect seriousness.

* * *

The hallways became steadily more traveled as they went on, careening around corners and through doors. It became as much a matter of following the path of most-use as following Ren. Still, Elazul almost thought they'd lose her anyway, when a wolf-like howl echoed down the hall. The sounds of a second battle grew louder as they headed towards it. Bursting into another large room, Elazul could see a strange, barred gate on the far side. Through the gaps, he glimpsed cables and pulleys that could only indicate an elevator of some sort. Exactly what everyone down here would converge on.

Before the gate stood Sierra, knives bared against her brother, who was pacing back and forth warily, just out of reach. Nearby was Ren, obviously just arrived and taking stock of the situation. It didn't take long; she launched herself at Sierra before anyone could shout a warning.

Larc looked back, and suddenly threw himself forward. Shoving Sierra aside with complete unconcern for her weapons, he spun and blocked the incoming blow with his axe. "Stay out of this!" he snarled loudly. Ren sprang back, looking a bit disoriented, then turned as she glimpsed Blackpearl circling the room, and fixed on that target instead.

Elazul was halfway across the room to help Sierra with Larc when he noticed Blackpearl hadn't re-materialized her weapon. She looked, if anything, confused, as if it had refused to respond to her command. Suddenly he felt a disturbance, a burst of sound from her core which was usually completely closed to him.

Choking back a cry of protest as he realized what she was doing, he switched directions and threw himself at Ren instead, just as the glare of brilliant white light blinded the room. _Pearl! Of all the stupid, reckless…goddess keep me alive so I can strangle her!_ He made a blind grab and connected with the back of the girl's dress. Dragging her away he raised his sword, fully expecting it to break under the same force that had shattered Blackpearl's hammer, but the connecting blow was surprisingly light.

His vision cleared, allowing him to focus on the swords crossed between them; Ren's resting lightly against his own as if she'd simply paused for a rest. Elazul stared for a second, then shook himself mentally. Letting the end of his blade drop, he lunged for her sword. His fingers just barely brushed the hilt…

_The woods were quiet now, the birds gone. Even the stream, though loud just before him, seemed to trickle off into silence just a few feet away, emptying into a dark space that led nowhere. It was as if some huge beast had bitten chunks out of the world, blank, lightless gaps where once trees had stood, or the sky had filtered through._

_"Ren!" Elazul yelled to the girl on the bank, fearing the opening of another gap beneath her, there seemed little enough left of the area as it was. She looked up, unconcerned. _

_"Who?" she asked, standing. "No wait, don't go-"_

Suddenly Ren screamed, a piercing, agonized sound that tore through Elazul's nerves as if he'd been struck himself. He jerked his hand away and she staggered backwards, dropping to her knees.

"Damn it, Drakonis," Larc said from where he was now holding the elevator gate open, possibly to himself, possibly to his unseen master. "We're going to lose her before we even get the second stone!" He lifted a hand and chanted rapidly. Elazul spun around, grabbed Pearl and threw them both to the floor just as huge chunks of rock sailed over them, slamming into the far wall and sending pieces everywhere.

"This way!" Larc yelled above the noise, and Elazul looked up just in time to see the gate slam shut behind him and Ren together. There was a grinding noise, and the elevator platform shot upwards and out of sight.

Pearl rolled over and sat up, looking around fearfully, and Elazul pushed all his other thoughts aside. "_Are you crazy?_" he yelled. She just stared back at him uncomprehendingly for a moment. "Blackpearl! I know you're in there, what did you think you were _doing_? Get back out here now, I swear I'll-"

"It wasn't her!" Pearl shrieked back, shocking him into silence. "I did it myself! I made a mistake, Elazul, I should never have brought her out. I thought it would help, but when I saw Ren…I knew it was wrong. I was so afraid, it was much too fast, someone was going to get hurt! I couldn't let them fight again. So I stopped her, I stopped her…"

"Are you crazy?" Elazul repeated, recovering his voice to cut off her semi-coherent reasoning. "You could have been killed!"

"No!" Pearl cut him off again. "Ren wouldn't hurt me. She wouldn't. Can't you see that?"

"That's not Ren, it's not the same-"

"Why don't you _trust_ her?" Pearl shoved him away and stood up, her rather diminutive height suddenly imposing. "You trusted that I wouldn't hurt you, even when I changed into some other person. You knew you could bring me back! Why is this different?"

"It _was_ different!" Why would this girl never listen to _logic?_ "You were still _you_, no matter what happened. A sane, thinking person who would not kill without _reason_. Didn't you see her _eyes? _Ren is being controlled by a much darker being, someone who cares neither for her well being nor ours. How could you be so-"

"But he's afraid. Or whoever's behind her is."

Elazul found himself up against a mental wall again. "What?"

"I could feel it. That's why she ran. He…he's afraid to force her to…" Pearl balked at the idea and fell silent.

"Drakonis fears the truth." Sierra picked herself up off the floor. "He always has. The bond he has forged with the mana knight is false, and he knows it. He has glimpsed a truer bond, and frightens him. He has waited for this too long to test an unknown power before his plans are complete."

Elazul frowned. "I don't think I-"

"Oh shut up," Sierra growled. "Do not tell me you don't understand or anything of the sort. You felt it just now, as well as I did. In desperation to protect your guardian, you drew on that bond, pushed her away. I felt it waver, why did you not press the attack?" She wandered around so he couldn't avoid looking at her. "What do you fear? That it won't be strong enough, or that it will?"

"It hurt her! Whatever happened, I-" Elazul stopped. _Damn it, Drakonis,_ Larc had said. It wasn't him at all, it was the red dragon interfering, trying to startle him, scare him off by attacking Ren. Which meant, whatever he'd been doing had probably been the right direction to go.

Pearl was right. Ren's desperate avoidance of him and Blackpearl in the halls of the fortress made _sense_; she was panicked, despite her lack of expression, trying to keep from doing something she would regret even more than what had already happened. It meant she was fighting Drakonis, somehow. Internally, unconsciously perhaps, but strong enough that the dragon feared any further resistance.

"He can't pit her against her friends," Elazul said, standing up. "Because he's having trouble holding on to her as it is. You heard Larc, he was worried. I bet this is no easy task for a _dead dragon_ to pull off. He doesn't think we're capable of much, but it would only take a little…damn it, and I let go!" He stormed over to the closed gate and slammed his fist against it, rattling it loudly. "Get this thing back down here! We need to catch them!"

"Larc has probably blocked it at the top." Sierra stepped up beside him, peering up the shaft. "Larc…" she looked down again, almost sad. "You were right. He is not being controlled. He does this with full awareness and purpose, he _believes_ in what he's doing!"

"He acted to protect you though, didn't he." Elazul didn't let go of the gate, but he let his grip loosen. "Just because he's not controlled doesn't mean he's not being forced."

"He felt, to me, like someone who's…" Pearl came up next to him, looking hesitantly at Sierra. "In over his head? Clinging to something, trying to stay above water…I don't know how to say it…"

"Above water?" Elazul shook his head. "Above fire, more likely. Listen to her," he waved Sierra towards Pearl, then went back to examining the gate. "She's way better at reading people than I am."

Sierra stared at them both incredulously, then composed herself quickly. "I have to talk to him again. Somehow I must make him see reason. No matter what he thinks he can accomplish by aiding this plan of Drakonis', it cannot be worth it."

"Yes well, that involves being _where he is_," Elazul kicked the gate and turned away. "Tell me there's another way up."

Sierra shook her head. "No, Jajara would not wish to guard more than one passage. Perhaps I can break the gate," she said, holding out her hands. She began chanting, low and measured, but before she could finish, a louder noise drowned her out. The sounds of crashing stone accompanied a sudden shaking of the floor beneath their feet. Down one of the hallways came the rumble of walls collapsing, and then everything was still again.

Too still. A sort of pressure was building in the air, almost electric, but heavy, trying to force everyone to their knees. Pearl caught Elazul's arm for balance and looked up at the ceiling as if terrified the whole thing might come down.

"Jajara," Sierra gasped, struggling to stay upright. "The dragon of darkness is fighting."

The oppressive atmosphere warped and twisted, a side effect, Elazul assumed, of whatever great energies were being drawn upon in the upper chambers. "How long will he last, do you think?" he asked, trying to think of some way to get up there in time.

"I don't know!" Sierra let out a strangled, frustrated cry. "I would be lying to say I cared overmuch what happens to Jajara, but they will gain his crystal, and go after Vadise next! We must _do something!_"

"Allow me." A voice echoed dully, like it was spoken from inside a metal box. The air nearby split open and a faint crackling sound preceded the huge black suit of armor that pulled itself through it.

"Irzoile." Sierra said flatly. Deathbringer ignored her, drifting towards the elevator. "Surely you should be aiding Jajara?" she asked, a little louder.

"I have not the strength left," he intoned, the dark faceplate turning to her. Indeed, the armor seemed much worse for wear. Beyond the huge gash in the front, bits and pieces seemed attached only lightly, ready to fall off at any moment. One leg dragged nearly on the floor, and the other creaked at every movement. Just as he reached the gate, it fell apart completely, metal clanging to the floor in a disordered heap. From the scraps, a red light glowed, then flew upward, forming into a misty cloud that swirled through the bars and up towards the next floor.

The walls shook again as they waited, but when the platform finally descended, it seemed stable enough. "This way," Deathbringer's voice spoke from a red, flame-like orb hovering in the center of the elevator. "Quickly. I had to break a few pieces to get it back down, it will not hold for long."

The three of them hurried onto the platform and it flew upwards without even waiting for the gate to close. As they leapt off at the top, the pulleys and chains supporting it snapped, and the whole thing crumbled back towards the dungeons.

Just as the last of that disaster died away, a louder cacophony took its place. The crack of stone, and possibly bone, breaking, and over it all a thin, high-pitched wail. Elazul could hear it twice, once ringing in his ears and again through his core; the sound of a mana stone under attack. Heading in the direction of the cry, he found the hall blocked by yet another gate, this one massive and apparently made of bone.

Elazul turned to the floating red light. "Got a key?"

Deathbringer's orb bobbed closer to the gate, then hung very still. "It is too late," he said, just as the heaviness of the air lifted with such suddenness it left Elazul reeling. All noise ceased, and then a silent shockwave blew the gates open and rippled down the hallway, followed moments later by a sound like a glass window shattering.

Pearl shrieked and stumbled, and Elazul moved to steady her until the floor stopped shaking. "By the goddess herself!" Sierra exclaimed, running through the gate ahead of them. "The mana stone!"

As soon as Pearl found her footing, they both followed the white dragoon, only to find her standing in an empty room. Pieces of stonework and statuary lay strewn about the room, knocked loose in a raging battle, or possibly used as projectile weapons. The dais that had supported the mana crystal on their arrival was empty.

"Wh-what happened?" Pearl stammered.

"It's gone? No…" Elazul felt a glimmer, a faint tone from somewhere and looked around the room. Here and there, scattered in corners and up against fallen rocks, he could see flashes of light. "They broke it."

"Broken?" Sierra whirled from the platform and looked in the direction he was pointing. She didn't seem to need a closer look. "Jajara's crystal was not as well maintained, it must have shattered on having its seal released."

Elazul thought back to Vadise's more judicious use of her own stone's power. "All at once? What are they planning on doing with it?"

Sierra stared at him, her eyes widening. "Vadise! They must being going straight for her while we are trapped here! With the crystal in pieces, I cannot even try to make a portal!"

"How long I have waited to hear you admit incompetence." The red light drifted almost serenely into the room. "While you and that recluse Vadise have been hoarding your mana power like an egg you expected to hatch, Jajara and I have been experimenting. Not that it did him much good." The light flickered madly, and the voice grew strained. "Nor I, for that matter."

"How can you even _exist_ without Jajara's influence?" Sierra growled. "Is there no end to your bloody-minded tenacity?"

"There is an end, and it is fast approaching. Stand back, Sierra, and watch what a _true_ master of the mana stone can do, even at such an end." The light flared, growing brighter and brighter, and suddenly the armor was back. Transparent and lit from within, Deathbringer's spirit form raised its arms, and the shards of the crystal sprang from the floor and drew towards him. As they neared each other, sparks flew between them until they formed a closed ring of light, hovering over the dais. In the center, a point of green grew until it filled the entire circle; Vadise's forest.

"Far be it from me to give Drakonis the chance to exist in a world where I must die." Deathbringer pulled back on the edge of the portal, as his image flickered in and out in time with the rapid pulse of the crystal pieces. "Destroy him."

For a minute, Sierra just looked at the widening gate, then slowly she turned to its creator. She brought her hand up in an obviously reluctant salute, one dragoon to another. Deathbringer smiled grimly. "Perhaps we will meet again in the Underworld," he said.

The white dragoon shook her head. "There will be plenty waiting before me," she said quietly, then turned and leapt through the gate.

"Well, Jumi?" Deathbringer's image was visibly unstable now. "I cannot hold this long. Take your chances, or stay here. I am sure the zombies will enjoy your company…"

Elazul ran for the gate, but Pearl hesitated at the edge of the dais, looking up at the dying dragoon. "If Viridian could be reborn," she said earnestly. "Maybe Ren can bring back Jajara too! You don't have to give up…there might be a way…"

Deathbringer stared at her for a moment, then suddenly laughed. It was a harsh sound, without mirth. "Be careful what you wish for, little Jumi. Be certain, should the chance be offered, I would take it."

Pearl started to speak again, but Elazul snagged her arm and pulled her closer to the gate, glaring at Deathbringer over his shoulder. The man had been an emperor in life, a dragoon in death, and even this close to fading away completely, he radiated a nasty, manipulative power. Pearl might be willfully unaware of anything but his current helpfulness, but Elazul remembered the dark rooms beneath the fortress, and wanted nothing more to do with him.

"We're going through," he said to his guardian, hurrying her to the portal. "And when we get there I want you to head for the trees. No matter what happens, I want you out of it. Not you, not Blackpearl, just get away and stay there."

"But-" Pearl started.

"No! Your new habit of arguing with everything I say is admirable, I'm sure, but even if you never listen to me again, do it this one last time. Please?'

She looked startled, then apologetic. "I'm sorry. Of course I will. I'm sorry, Elazul…I shouldn't have-"

"Just 'yes' would have been fine," he said, and pulled her after him through the portal.

* * *

The first thing Elazul noticed on landing in Vadise's glade was the renewed hum of a mana stone; the crystal's power seemed to blanket the entire area. Its center point was Vadise, blocking the path to the smaller glade and positively radiating energy. Before her stood Larc, axe raised between them. A different sort of power seemed to have gathered around him, battling with the white dragon's. Neither moved, but Elazul suspected stepping into the near invisible maelstrom between them could be deadly.

Ren, obviously thinking the same, was several feet away from Larc, focused on the other dragon. Viridian was crouched warily, his tail lashing back and forth, just barely missing Sierra and the Jumi as they appeared behind him. Elazul felt Pearl pull away and retreat as the green dragon's head snapped towards them.

_"Elazul…"_ He had expected some kind of accusation, but Viridian's voice was pleading, confused. _"What do I do?"_

"Get the hell out of the way!" Elazul snapped, as he saw Ren charge while the dragon wasn't looking. Viridian shot upwards, just clearing the range of Ren's sword in time. Startled and off balance, he landed awkwardly behind her, stumbling into Larc. There was a flash of red light as his spell faltered, and a stream of fire lanced from nowhere, striking a nearby tree and setting it ablaze.

Sierra took her chance and ran for Larc, her knives clashing against his axe before he could recharge the spell. Whatever vituperative words she might have had for her brother were lost to Elazul as Ren zeroed in on the person now closest to her. He raised his sword quickly and the resulting blow nearly drove him back toward the trees, but he forced himself to stand his ground.

Ren showed no surprise at being blocked, only took half a step back and struck again, and again. Elazul deflected each, but just barely. She was strong, too strong, and fast as lightning. It reminded him very much of Sandra, a being obviously enhanced by some extra power source.

Jajara's mana stone. They had gone straight from the bone fortress to the white forest, without stopping to rest in the Underworld this time. Taking the mana fresh from the broken crystal to wield in entirety against Vadise. Larc was obviously channeling some massive energies, and Ren…

Elazul flinched as one of her attacks struck close to the hilt of his blade, jarring his arm to the shoulder. She wasn't hesitating anymore; Drakonis' hold had been strengthened, augmented by the second stone. The chance he'd failed to take advantage of in the fortress was gone now, whisked far out of reach by that surge of power. A black despair settled over him, and yet it was strangely liberating. No more logic, no more reasoning, no more chances. No choice. He had known it would end up this way. After all, when had life ever bothered to cut him a break?

"I was hoping, hoping beyond any sort of reason, that _someone_ would do this for me," he practically snarled, throwing himself into the battle with complete abandon of sense. "That somehow it would be taken out of my hands. Vadise, Sierra, Blackpearl, _anyone,_ because I never wanted to fight you. Never!" He gathered his strength and pushed her blade away, driving her back. "But I should have known it would come to this. Of _course_ it would. Why should I have ever dared to think differently?" He dodged to one side and renewed the attack, slicing at her almost randomly, without pattern or rhythm, an onslaught as chaotic as the turmoil in his mind.

"Damn it all Ren," he shouted as she swung her sword towards him again. _"Wake up!"_ The weapons met again with more force than previously, but white light flared around Elazul's blade, strengthening it, keeping it from shattering under the other's edge. He refused to back down, and when she tried to pull back herself he slid his blade into the hook of her sword and locked it in place.

The light crackled between them, and for a brief second he had the incredulous thought that he might be winning. Ren seemed to have frozen. He felt the pressure from her sword falter, but then the red stone flashed. Flames trickled up from the hilt and engulfed both swords, reflected in her staring eyes.

_"Damn it indeed,"_ Drakonis' voice, smooth as oil just starting to catch fire, seemed to come from nowhere at all. _"Jumi, you are _annoying. _I have preparations to make, and so many better things to occupy my time, and yet I am forced to _concentrate_ on this _ farce. _So much for leaving things to Larc."_ Ren suddenly twisted, pulling her sword free, and slashed towards Elazul, forcing him to jump back. The red dragon's now familiar laughter echoed in his head, with a tinge of irritation. _"Oh just give up. Afraid to die?"_

"No." Elazul regained his balance. "Not really. I'm sure there are worse things." He shook the flames free of his blade and let its own light return. Closing with Ren again, he aimed for the hilt of her sword, where that red stone was glowing. Drakonis growled.

_"Keep making a nuisance of yourself, and I will _show_ them to you!"_ The eye of flame sputtered audibly, and suddenly the fire around Ren's sword leapt towards him like lightning between rods. He raised his own weapon and it deflected, but not far enough. Acrid smoke from burning moss stung his eyes and the proximity of the blaze forcing him to one side. Something hit his legs from behind and dropped him to the ground, just as a second invisible strike dashed his sword from his hand. Blinking away the smoke, he knew there was no way he could avoid the incoming blow.

But it never struck. Blood dripped onto the dead leaves in front of him. Looking up, he saw Ren standing over him, and behind her, Viridian, one claw closed tightly about the lifted sword.

_"He may not be afraid to die,"_ the green dragon hissed. _"But I will not let you make _her_ do it!"_

Ren spun, yanking her sword free and eliciting a cry of pain from its captor. The flames were gone from its length, and with them, Drakonis' presence had faded. She and Viridian circled each other, and the sounds of another battle rushed in to fill the renewed silence. Larc and Sierra flew from one side of the glade to the other, weapons flashing in the light of the burning foliage as each attempt to charge the white dragon was blocked.

Vadise seemed torn, Elazul could see, sparing her a glance as he got to his feet again. Her gaze darted between the furious forms of the dragoons to Viridian and Ren and back again. Suddenly she surged forward. _"Enough!"_

Blue and white rings appeared from where her talons struck the ground, one rippling along the forest floor, the other expanding overhead to fill the sky. With a rush of displaced air, the upper one raced downwards, creating a pressure not unlike the one in Jajara's fortress. Sierra and Larc were tossed to the ground, and Viridian pulled back his head and snapped angrily at the runes that ran along the ring's edge.

_"I have seen death and destruction, the rise and fall of cities, countries, murder and every sort of senseless slaughter, but this…this is more than I can bear!"_ Vadise seemed overwhelmed, almost panicked. The runed circles pressed closer, driving the two dragoons apart._ "Sierra, Larc! Stay your weapons, try to remember who you are! Viridian!"_ she wailed, and a third circle broke off and whirled towards the green dragon, shining in the air between him and Ren. _"Do not_ _fight her!"_

"Vadise…" It was Larc, struggling to his feet with the aid of his weapon. For a moment he swayed, then swung the axe up and through the air, standing straight again. "You cannot stop this. You have lost all your will to fight over these years, and with it, much of your power." For a moment he seemed hesitant and sad. "And to tell the truth, I do not wish to fight you." He brought the axe around to point at her. "Step away from the mana crystal, and this battle will end. It is the only way. Your fragile barrier will not hold for long." To illustrate his point, he took a step forward, and another, straining against the spell.

Ren didn't bother trying to move. She stood watching the slowly spinning circle in front of her as if hypnotized. The red hilted sword hung aimlessly at her side, still devoid of light or fire. Had Viridian somehow quenched it permanently or was it only a brief respite? Either way, if Drakonis' link was broken, even temporarily…

Elazul looked around; his sword wasn't that far away, he could probably reach it in time. He started towards it, but caught a flash of white from under a nearby tree. Pearl was peering around the trunk, her eyes pleading, begging him to do something, and he suspected it didn't have to do with fighting. He looked back at the tableau; Ren, Viridian, Larc, Vadise, Sierra. If it degenerated into a battle again, would Pearl forget all promises and throw herself into the middle?

Probably.

_"Kesta…"_ Vadise called softly, looking past Larc. _"Will you not even look at me? I have waited so long, I never thought to see you again. Surely a thousand years cannot have passed, just for it to end like this?"_

"She can't hear you," Larc said. "Let go the barrier, Vadise, and no one needs to get hurt. I'll take her away from here and-"

"You will do no such thing," Elazul snapped, his voice carrying easily across the clearing. Both Larc and Vadise turned. The white dragon caught his eye and tilted her head slightly. Elazul tensed, and suddenly the rings lifted.

_"Now!"_ Vadise let the single syllable fly. Sierra leapt up and tackled Larc from behind, and Elazul, leaving the last of his self-preservation somewhere behind him, ran again for Ren. He didn't really have a plan, but halfway to her, he snatched her other sword from his belt on a whim.

"Hey," he said, as she spun towards him. "Catch." The sword sailed through the air in a completely awkward arc, and Ren brought her hand up automatically. To catch it or deflect it, it didn't matter, she was focused on that blade for one instant, and Elazul closed the gap between them. Grabbing her wrist, he forced the sword down and away before pinning her other arm to her side and pulling her to him.

"Ren…" he started, and wasn't quite sure what else to say. He was sure it would only be seconds before she broke his grip and everything went to hell again, but he didn't know what else to do. "Let go," he whispered to the air past her shoulder; he couldn't make himself look at her eyes, didn't want to see that dead, blank gaze. He let his hand slide down, over hers, to the hilt of the dragon sword, and closed around the red stone.

* * *

_Let go._

_"Let go of what?" Ren asked, a simple question. She seemed to be sitting in empty space, but was unconcerned about it. Around them was an endless blankness, a kind of dark grey-blue that was even less interesting than true black would have been. "There's nothing to let go of."_

_"Where is this?" Elazul was trying not to think about not having anything to stand on._

_"Don't know. Don't care. It's not bad though. Nothing to look at, nothing to think about…I'm starting to like it here. At first it was annoying because there were these little bits and pieces of things floating around, but now that it's _all_ gone, it's quite nice." She stood up and walked around in a small circle. "No directions to worry about either, very convenient."_

_"Ren…" Elazul tried to get her attention, but she only shook her head._

_"Who? There's no one else here."_

_He paused, thinking. "Kesta?"_

_That got a little more reaction. She stopped walking, one hand raised to her chin as if considering. "No. I don't think so."_

_Elazul took a few steps forward. "Then who are you?" She let her hand fall and stood staring into the emptiness for a long time. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "Answer me!"_

_She stared back, then slowly, her eyes fell away. "I…don't…know…" the words wound out like the last few notes of a music box, ending in silence. Elazul looked down at her, trying to answer the question for himself._

_Sure, she might have once been some incredible figure of history, the goddess' knight who swept armies away between her swords and Viridian's breath of fire; but despite Vadise's constant chant of a name that meant nothing to him, he could only see her as Ren. The one who stuck her nose into everyone's business, forced nicknames down people's throats, and couldn't follow directions to save her life. Who got drunk on diceberry wine and was a sore loser at table games, who threw things to end arguments and seemed to think any problem could be solved by a little bit of excess force. The real one._

_"Ren," he whispered, leaning down. "Your name is Ren. Forget Kesta, forget whatever that bastard Drakonis has told you. Let it go. Forget it all, but you can't just hide here. People need you. I need you." He held her back at arms length, staring into her eyes. Somewhere in there he thought he saw it; a flicker of light, but it died quickly. _

_"Fight it!" Elazul hissed, shaking her. "Fight it, damn you! You're stronger than this!" _

_"Am I? Am I really?" Ren looked up at him suddenly, as if just now noticing he was there. "Elazul? Are you sure?"_

_"Of course I'm sure."_

_"Well." She reached out, wrapped her fingers around his. "As long as you'll be there, to be sure…because…"_

_"Because?"_

_"I'm afraid…"_

_A red light grew beneath them, and the invisible floor dropped away. Ren's hand slipped out of his as they fell…_

…and left him holding the sword. The eye of flame seemed to twist under his hand, and then suddenly it shattered, pieces flying off in all directions. An angry scream that might have been Drakonis ran through his mind, and pain lanced up his arm like lightning, a fiery arc that tried to cut him in two. The red light increased, seeming to come from all sides at once, intensifying to a brilliance that drowned out all thought.

* * *

There was a huge golden eye peering down at him. Green scales and bluish fur surrounded it, visible as the head pulled back. Elazul sat up. "Viridian?"

The green dragon nodded, slowly. There was something different here. The dragon was larger, stronger-looking than Elazul remembered, his length marred by numerous scars that twisted the regrown scales into strange patterns. His eyes held a strange depth that the younger dragon could only hint at, but also an incredible pride. This was the Viridian of a thousand years previous, the one Vadise had named the mana dragon. Before him lay scattered the shards of the eye of flame, and among them the sword, its blade unbroken.

_"Well done," _the dragon spoke in a deep, level voice. _"But now the real challenge begins."_

"Oh?" Elazul tried to look around, but the surrounding features were indistinct, he could be anywhere.

_"The truth. It is a sharper blade than any made of steel. Will you be able to fix what it has cut?"_

"What truth?"

Viridian sighed. _"Is that not for you to discern, descendant of mana? Look…there…"_ The dragon faded out of view, and the rest of the forest brightened, but it was not Vadise's glade as he had assumed…

_Two people raced through a dark wood, a red robed wizard and the mana knight, Kesta. Focused forward with single-minded determination, she dodged between the trees with the man on her heels. "Quickly!" she called back to him. "I must get back! The goddess will need to know what happened." She glanced back again at the man who had saved her from Anise's hoards. They had been attacked several times since, but each time he repelled them easily._

"_Yes," the man agreed. "We should inform the goddess of Viridian's fate. Do you think she will be willing to let me past the barrier?" Even in the dim light beneath the trees, his eyes gleamed faintly red._

"_Yes of course," Kesta assured him. "She will be grateful for your aid."_

_Above and ahead of them, through the leaves, a glimpse of gold could be seen. Bursting out from the cover of the branches, they could see the great tree towering above them. Before them the barrier touched the earth and merged with it, not a break to be seen anywhere._

_"How do we get inside?" the wizard asked, staring at it in dismay. Kesta didn't answer. Her hand drifted to her waist. Passing briefly over the red-hilted blade lodged there, she hesitated._

_"Is something wrong?" The man asked._

_"Viri..." Kesta looked up at the tree, sadness in her eyes. "I cannot believe I am returning without him. No, nevermind." She shook her head firmly. "I will get the egg back from Undine and everything will be fine." Drawing the mana sword from its sheath, she raised it as if to strike the shield. A light sprang up around the blade, an aura that gleamed in time with the pulse of the barrier. The wall wavered and parted before it, with a glad sound like bells welcoming them in._

_"Come on!" she called back, and ran through the gap. The wizard followed, a grim sort of smile etched on his face. _

_Here and there, the huge roots of the tree reached down from above, driving into the ground like anchors. Kesta ran to the nearest and began to climb, sheathing the blade and scrambling up the bark with ease. They did not pause until they'd reached a point nearly halfway up the trunk, where the ridges of the bark flattened out and made sort of a ledge, spiraling around towards the top. There she stopped, resting her hand against the bark._

_"Mother," she whispered. "I am here."_

_The bark seemed to twist, rippling slightly, like water. The face and form of a woman emerged, with hair flowing back into the tree, and arms reaching out._

You came back,_ the woman said, gathering her in. _I felt Viridian's fall, and the cry of the mana sword. The battle is lost.

_"Never," Kesta said, shaking her head. "I will still fight. I'll bring Viridian's egg back, as soon as I get the chance, I simply need some time." She leaned more fully against the tree, the effect of her wounds finally catching up to her. "I am so tired."_

_But the goddess had focused over her head, her eyes fixed on the one who had followed. _What have you brought here?_ she wailed suddenly. _What have you done?

_Kesta looked up. "He saved me," she said, sounding confused. "Can't he stay here, for a while?"_

_The goddess lowered her head. _My child…_she said softly, tears forming in her eyes and dissipating like mist as they fell._

_The rest of her words were lost in a low, sinister laugh. The man stepped forward quickly, his hand closing about the hilt of the sword at the girl's waist, and drawing it away from its rest with a hiss of metal. "This charade ends here." _

_Kesta whirled, her eyes widening at the sight of the mana sword in the other's hands. Faint wisps of smoke rose up where he held it, as if it burned, but he showed no other sign. "Who are you?" she gasped, snatching Viridian's sword from her waist as she stood between him and the goddess._

_"People are so stupid," he said with mock sadness. "Too long protected by this canopy." He gestured up at the leaves. "Really, you are a perfect example." Tossing back his sleeves, he murmured to himself, and suddenly deep red wings unfolded from his back, and a barbed tail curled away behind him. His eyes grew larger, deeper, and flames rose and died in their depths. "No one should have been so easy to fool."_

_"Drakonis?" Kesta stepped backwards. "You…traitor! You killed Viridian and now this? How…how could I not have _noticed?_"_

_"Well, I did say people were stupid, but I must admit to giving you a little help on that point." He flicked a finger at the sword in her hands. "It fit so nicely into the gap left by Viridian's soul." The red stone flashed and suddenly the whole blade was wreathed in fire, causing her to drop it with a gasp._

_Drakonis lifted the mana sword and leapt forward. The point drove deep into her body, pinning her to the tree beyond. She fell back soundlessly, shock overriding all pain, but the goddess let out a cry that shook the tree to its roots._

_The dragon merely smiled in the face of this rage, then twisted the sword and pulled it back, allowing the girl to drop to the path. "I suppose it might have been interesting to continue the game, but we shouldn't lose sight of our true goals, now."_

_Kesta rolled over, tried to get up, but failed. "Why…?" she asked._

_"This is progress, if only you knew," Drakonis informed her calmly. "But there is very little point in trying to explain it to you." He let go of the mana sword and let it drop beside her, shaking his hand slightly, as if it stung. Then he turned, stopping to catch up the red-hilted blade, tossing it lightly from one hand to the other as a crimson light engulfed him. Wings expanded far beyond their previous length, and the red dragon leapt up into the canopy, fire already trickling from his jaws._

_Kesta watched him go, the betrayal in her eyes slowly fading, giving way to anger, but too late. Her fingers reached out touched the hilt of the sword but could not hold it. "I'm sorry…" she whispered, reaching up to the tree instead._

_The goddess did not answer. Her eyes were turned upward; far above, a light began to flicker, the orange glow of flames catching in the leaves. She reached down and took the girl's hand, her lips moving in a soundless chant. As the fire raced down the trunk, a different sort of light shone between them, and with a brilliant flash, it disappeared completely._

* * *

Elazul woke abruptly, feeling like something had taken him apart into constituent molecules and then pasted him back together again. It actually took a few minutes to form a coherent thought, and he wondered vaguely if this was what it was like to be Ren.

_Ren._ The dream, the sword, Drakonis, it all raced back and he shoved himself into a sitting position, looking wildly around the glade and not seeing what should be there. Pearl, hovering at his side worriedly. Vadise, Sierra, Viridian, but not…

"Where…?" The single, half-choked syllable somehow conveyed everything he wanted to ask. Vadise shook her head, anguish in her eyes.

_"He took her. Took her back,"_ The dragon's words were halting.

"What? No!" Elazul scrambled to his feet, staring at her in disbelief. Pearl backed away with a squeak.

_"What else could I do? Viridian and yourself, unconscious. Sierra wounded, and none but your fragile guardian to stand beside me? What would you have me do?"_ Vadise seemed near hysterics. _"I am no match for Larc, not with the augmented powers of two mana stones behind him, even if…even if I could…"_ A tremor ran down her spine, her limbs shaking.

"Vadise!" Sierra gasped, forcing herself upright and racing to the dragon's side, but Vadise pushed her away before collapsing under the tree. The dragoon looked up at Elazul. "Larc said he would protect her," she tried to explain. "He said he had a plan. That he would bring her back alive-"

"I don't care what he said!" Elazul interrupted angrily. "You think I trust him? _I_ had her back! She was… she was….how could you _send her back to that monster?_" The vision of moments before was screaming behind his eyes, lending volume and desperation to his words. "He killed her! I saw it, a thousand years ago, he used her and killed her to get to the tree…and he burned it. Set it aflame and _laughed_…and you," he hissed at Vadise with as much anger as he could possibly contain. _"You would let him get his hands on her again!"_ He sliced his hand through the air, still holding the blade he had snatched from Ren. It whistled between him and Vadise, and the dragon actually flinched.

"Stop it!" Sierra shouted, jumping between him and the dragon. "This won't get us anywhere. We have to-"

"Shut up!" Elazul lowered the sword but didn't back down. "I've had _enough_. I have had it with you, your dragon, your dragon's damned soul crystal and the whole deal. Let's see how far we can push the guy until he snaps and does what we want, is that it? Do you think I'm _blind,_ that I couldn't possibly _see_ what you were doing?

"You're just like Drakonis. I'm just your goddess be damned tool. Look at him, he's in love with her, he'll do _anything we tell him to._" He held the sword out to Sierra, the broken shards of the eye of flame glinting in the sun. "Well, I did it. I chased her to the four corners of the earth, risked my life and my guardian's life on your stupid speculation, and you _threw it all away._

"And now you think I'm just going to sit down and listen to you again? Screw that. I'm going to do what I should have done in the first place. I'll go down there _myself_ and make Drakonis eat this damn sword."

Sierra hissed angrily. "You-" she started.

_"Leave it be, Sierra,"_ Vadise said tiredly. _"I cannot argue with one word of it. I have handled this improperly from the beginning and now I must pay the price. I thought I was strong enough, but when it came down to it, I simply could not bring myself to fight Larc. Not to mention…"_ she trailed off.

"It wasn't her fault, Elazul," Pearl said timorously, almost as if suddenly afraid to voice her opinion again. "Sierra's brother…he was trying to protect us. He could have killed us all, but he didn't want to. Please don't…"

Elazul sighed. "You too?" he asked, but if Pearl was saying it, it was probably true. He looked at the ground. "It doesn't matter does it. I'm tired of being used, manipulated and generally pushed around, but I don't care. I'll go along with it anyway, if there's no other way. But just remember, I'm not doing it for _you._" He lifted his head and glared at dragon and dragoon.

Sierra was still shooting daggers from her eyes, but Vadise lowered her head in acknowledgement. _"You speak the truth, anyway. There is no other path open to us, save to go after them."_

_"But,"_ Viridian suddenly spoke from behind him. _"I'll hang on to that."_ Elazul found the sword snatched out of his hand.

"Hey!" He turned angrily on the dragon, but it faded. "Wait, are you…all right?" Elazul could not believe he felt the need to ask.

_"Yes."_ Viridian turned the blade over and over in his claws. _"I felt something break, something…snapped, and I feel much better."_ He leaned closer to Elazul, conspiratorially. _"They think I'm stupid, that I can't understand, but I'm not. I heard you all talking, I know what was going on. It was my bond with Ren that was dragging her down, that Drakonis was using."_ The dragon closed his eyes for a moment. _"But it's gone now. So…she'll be all right. Once you get her out of the Underworld that is." _ He nodded and sat up again.

"Somehow I don't think it's that-" Elazul started, dazed out of angry-tirade mode for a second.

"You are right, it is not that simple." Sierra caught his attention again. "Come over here, if you are done throwing your fit, and ready to think rationally again."

"I am not, in any way shape or form, ready to be rational," Elazul snapped at her. "But I'll talk, if it'll get me into the Underworld."


	27. Final Gate

_Hahahaha, finally, a chapter. I don't know if it's a good chapter, but it's a chapter. Don't trip over the writer's block on the way in…_

* * *

27 – Final Gate

* * *

Elazul sat on a tree root, his head in his hands. He had finished recounting the vision of the mana tree's death, and it hadn't gotten any better in the retelling. Not to mention, now that he'd stopped flinging sparks at Vadise, they'd taken up residence behind his eyes, and he really wished he had a drink or six.

"Are you okay?" Pearl asked, from where she was sitting about as close as she could possibly get without directly invading his personal space. Elazul lifted his head and stared blankly at her. Did she really expect a positive answer to that?

"I'm fine," he said, just because he could.

Pearl ignored that obvious lie. "You'll get her back," she said urgently. "I know you will."

Elazul decided to not even try to respond to that. Instead he turned his attention to Vadise and Sierra, who had apparently forgotten he existed, _again_, and were deep in discussion. "All right, you got your story. Mystery solved. Now what?"

_"It does not make sense,"_ Vadise said, turning to him. Elazul glared at her.

"Guess how much I care how much sense it makes! You think I'd make something like that up?" Pearl grabbed his sleeve before he could get to his feet and start another fight.

"Please, Elazul," she said. It seemed like her only vocabulary of late, he thought as he let himself be restrained. He wondered if she got tired of saying it.

"Fine," he muttered. "What doesn't make sense about it?"

_"Drakonis,"_ Vadise explained. _"I had always assumed that he was allied with Anise. Yet when the mana tree burned, she was furious. She had always pressed to recapture the tree, she wanted its power. Dead, it benefited no one. In fact, she accused us of destroying it, to keep it out of her hands. She must not have realized what had happened, any more than we did._

_"I was disoriented…the death of the tree, Viridian, Kesta, everything happened far too fast. I had no time for analysis; with our power source and reason for fighting gone, the battle became a slaughter. The faeries retreated, even into another dimension, and I gathered the remainder of the mana clan and fled into the wilderness."_

Elazul frowned. "Get to the point already. So what happened to Drakonis?"

_"That is the problem. He did not reappear in the annals of history until much later, and I was surprised enough to see him. I thought him dead after the fight with Viridian, I could think of no other reason he did not return to the battlefield. I do not understand!"_ she exclaimed with sudden vehemence. _"What did he hope to accomplish? If he burned the tree, why would he then simply disappear?"_

"Who cares?" Elazul asked, but in a measured tone for Pearl's sake. "Does it really matter what his motivations were, or are, in any sort of detail?"

"For once, I agree," Sierra put in. "Drakonis is most likely insane, at which point his motivations do not necessarily make sense to others."

_"I suppose that is true,"_ said Vadise, more quietly. _"It does not matter."_ She seemed to gather herself and straightened a bit. _"Then, more to the point. About entering the Underworld."_

"Is it possible, then?" Elazul asked.

_"It is. Those who have passed close to death are often capable of walking the line between the worlds."_

"You could have mentioned that a bit sooner," he snapped. "What was the big delay then?"

_"We knew very little about you,"_ the white dragon continued calmly. _"It was not until I got a clear look at the mana signature of your core that I realized the possibility."_

"Is that why you kept harping on it?" Elazul sighed. "Don't you people ever just ask a question straight?"

"Vadise," Sierra interrupted. "I still do not think it is a good idea."

_"At this point, it matters not at all. I had hoped to avoid such an enterprise, but now we must take whatever chances we have. He is qualified, and he is willing. That is all we can ask ."_

"But I am perfectly capable of-" Sierra tried again.

"_You will both go,"_ said Vadise with finality. _"No one should enter the Underworld alone."_

Elazul decided not to argue that point. However many problems he might have with Sierra, two would certainly be better than one. Sierra seemed likewise resigned. She bowed her head slightly to Vadise. "As you say."

"I suppose this means I should thank Sandra next time I meet her," Elazul muttered as he stood up. "For making it possible to visit a place I never wanted to see, among other things. Damn woman seems to have an uncanny talent for forcing stupid but inevitable conclusions on me." He wandered across the glade, locating his own sword, which had nearly gotten forgotten in all the weapon switching going on.

"_Don't hand her all the credit,"_ Viridian said from where he was idly turning Ren's sword over and over in his claws. _"Being stupid is the business of people in love since time began."_

"Who said anything about love?" Elazul slammed the sword back into its sheath without even checking it for damage and glared at Viridian and the glade in general.

Vadise blinked, looking surprised. _"Are you truly still in doubt?"_

"I believe I've told you both before that my personal thoughts are not any of your _business._ I'm just sick of you trying to assign me emotions like some sort of doll!"

Suddenly someone laughed, very quietly. Elazul looked down at Pearl in near mortification. What could she possibly find funny in all this?

"You did say it, you know." Pearl kicked her heels against the tree root. "That you love her."

Elazul stared at her, thinking back frantically. "Did I?"

"Mmm hmm. Besides," She looked at him and smiled a little, then lifted one hand and pointed straight at his core. "I can hear it." She let the hand fall. "So you see, you'll definitely be able to do it."

_What did I say?_ He continued to try to scroll through recent events, but everything was sort of an incoherent angry blur after the Eye of Flame shattered. "Well, at least one of us is sure of the outcome," he said ruefully, regarding Pearl. She seemed ridiculously calm.

"_My_ opinions on that score have not changed in the slightest," said Sierra firmly, standing up herself. "However, I am done with the topic. If you get lost in the Underworld due to improper motivation, it will be your own problem. After all, I can hardly talk. I have no such overreaching love myself, to make this any less of a risk."

Vadise looked sadly at her dragoon. _"__Sierra. That which joins you and Larc is still love. Do not let it blind you, as was said before, but do not dismiss it either. Love is a string that binds forever, though fire and war and death bar the way."_ The white dragon watched her for a moment, but Sierra did not respond.

"Somehow, I don't think Drakonis is going to be impressed, no matter how many poetic phrases you throw at him," Elazul muttered. "Look, we're really wasting time now. Ren could be…" He shook his head; he didn't want to give his imagination enough idle time to start speculating. "Just open a gate or dig a hole or whatever you need to do to get us down there."

_"I have never been able to open a gate to the Underworld,"_ Vadise informed him. _"And without the crystal, I cannot open one to anywhere. You will have to go to the site of the original breach, I think that is the most likely area for us enter."_

"So…Domina," Elazul concluded. "Great. I was hoping not to show my face there again until everything was resolved."

"No one in Domina is going to come after you," Pearl said reasonably.

"That's not the point," he started, but realized that he wasn't quite sure what the point was, then. He simply didn't want to face Jennifer, or the twins, or anyone who would ask the most obvious questions. Though to be perfectly honest, he didn't want to talk to Vadise anymore either, or Sierra, or Viridian or _anyone_.

Except Ren. He was certain that if he could just talk to her, everything would start making sense again. _Goddess, I'm losing it. Completely. Since when did talking to Ren ever help things make _more_ sense?_

"Fine. Whatever. Domina. Let's go," Elazul snapped out in sequence, and turned back to Viridian. "You providing transportation again?"

The green dragon looked up from the sword again. _"Yeah. Sure. Whatever,"_ he mimicked Elazul's tone perfectly. _"But not for three people."_

"Three…oh." Elazul wasn't about to leave Pearl with Vadise again. He wasn't about to drag her into the Underworld, either, but Domina would be far better than sitting next to a dragon who might as well have a target sign pasted on her if Drakonis did manage to return. He turned to Sierra, who looked at Vadise.

_"I dare not leave the forest,"_ she said softly. _"Without the crystal, I must confine myself to areas still high in mana. These woods have absorbed much over the years."_

"Wait…Vadise!" Pearl, who had been making her way over to Viridian, suddenly spun back. "With the mana stone drained, are you…are you…?" she seemed unable to finish.

The white dragon actually smiled a bit at that. _"Do not fret so. It is true that the loss of the crystal has weakened me, and over time most likely I would become unable to exist on my own. However, it is a slow draining. I have no intention of dying if I can help it." _She stared blankly at the air for a moment, then shook her head. _"However, I will send as much power as I can with Sierra. She should be able to keep pace with Viridian that way."_

_"You think so?"_ Viridian peered down at the dragoon.

"I made it here before you the first time," Sierra stated, then suddenly her eyes widened as if at some invisible surge of power, and she looked back. "Vadise! That is too much! You mustn't-"

_"You will need it to open the way."_ The dragon's voice had settled completely now. _"And this way…I will go with you."_ She held her head high, but Elazul thought she had the look of one who really wanted everybody to go away so she could rest without appearing weak.

Sierra started abruptly for the trees. "Come," she called. "We must hurry."

Viridian shook himself all over, like he'd just come out of a lake, and drifted a few inches up in the air, still clutching the sword.

"Are you going to carry that thing the whole way?" Elazul asked.

_"I will not let go of it until I can give it back to her,"_ the dragon said with finality. _"Besides, it said it would tell me how to fix it."_

Elazul unraveled that sentence a bit. "Wait, the sword talks to you?"

Viridian snorted. _"What, you think you're the only one allowed to hear voices and not be insane? It used to be part of my soul, after all."_ He looked thoughtful. _"I think that was the idea, anyway. Honestly, talking swords do not make a lot of sense. Let's just go."_

* * *

The flight back proved less turbulent than the previous one, whether because Viridian was in better condition, or the wind was simply blowing in a different direction, Elazul didn't know. He spent the time staring at the horizon, as if he could will it closer, faster. Sitting on a dragon with nothing to do but try to breathe despite Pearl's deathgrip was giving him far too much time to think.

Despite the speed, they didn't touch down outside of Domina until late at night. The light of three moons illuminated the gates of the cemetery, still open, and the rows of tombstones beyond. Pearl stayed back, watching the graves warily. Suddenly she gasped and darted behind Viridian, as two dark shapes dashed between the gates towards them.

"Viri!" High-pitched voices cried happily as Bud and Lisa launched themselves at the dragon. Pearl reappeared, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Oh! You two!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing out here?"

Lisa ran over and flung her arms around Pearl instead. "You're back!" She let go quickly, her eyes darting around the area. Obviously not seeing what she wanted, her face fell momentarily, and she exchanged a glance with her twin. Neither of them bothered to ask the obvious question, though. Instead they looked back at Pearl. "We've been coming here all the time. You know, just in case."

"Does Jennifer know you're out here?" Elazul asked. "In the middle of the night?"

"No. Of _course_ not," Bud snorted. "She'd just be worried, even though she's been spending all her time telling us not to worry. Psh," he waved a hand derisively. "We're not worried."

"We're just waiting," Lisa explained. "So, what's the story? Did the other dragon help?"

"What was she like? Strange like her dragoon?"

"Did you get lost in the white forest? I hear lots of people never come out of there."

Elazul found himself speechless. After the mind twisting events of the past few days, he was totally unprepared to deal with _enthusiasm_.

_"He got lost,"_ Viridian informed them, always happy to help.

"Shut up," Elazul muttered, then looked down at the twins. "Look, you guys need to go back to Jennifer's. It might not be safe here."

Bud looked unimpressed. "So? What are you going to do?"

"We are going to open a gate to the Underworld," Sierra stated. Elazul jumped and turned around; she was standing by the side of the path as if she'd been there forever. Viridian glared at her, but the twins were quicker.

"Awe. Some." Bud didn't even miss a beat.

"Woo," Lisa added. "Can I watch?"

"Can I come?" Her brother wasn't about to be outdone.

"No, and no." Elazul pointed down the path. "Get out of here."

"Spoilsport," Bud muttered. "What're you going to do if we stay?"

"Pearl!" Elazul looked over his shoulder. "Take these stupid kids back to Jennifer!"

"Oh come on, Pearl's not gonna make us do anything. Are you?" Lisa gave Pearl her best puppy eyes.

"Oh…um…" Pearl took a step back, but there was a quick rush of air, and Viridian leapt overhead, landing lightly behind the twins to snag both their collars with one hand.

_"I can make you,"_ he said, looming over them. In his other claw, Ren's sword caught the moonlight. The twins stared up at it, easily distracted.

"Whoa," Bud exclaimed. "Now that has an _aura._ Where did you _get_ it?"

_"I will tell you when we get back home,"_ Viridian said smugly, then turned thoughtful. _"In fact, maybe there's something you can help me with."_

"Can we mess with it?" Bud asked, still focused on the sword.

_"I said maybe."_ Viridian held the blade out of their reach. _"But if you can, it'll help a lot."_

"Will it help with…" Lisa glanced back at the others, briefly solemn.

_"Yes."_ The dragon twitched his tail, then looked over her head at Elazul. _"We need to put it back together before he gets back."_

"Why?" Lisa was distracted again. "What is it?"

Viridian shook his head, refusing to answer. _"I've got things covered here,"_ he said to Elazul instead. _"Think you can manage the rest?"_ Without waiting for an answer, he turned and ushered the twins down the path ahead, leaving the Jumi staring after him.

_Amazing,_ Elazul thought, half-sincerely. _I wonder if he picked up something from the old Viridian, or if he's just going through another personality growth crisis. Or maybe he's just barely clinging to sanity like the rest of us and doesn't dare say anything too serious._ He turned away quickly. "Pearl. Go with them."

She started to walk away, then stopped. "Elazul…" She shifted her balance a bit, as if trying to think of something. "Be careful," she said finally. The same thing she said every time he left her alone for more than a second. The same simple words, the same inflection, the same unspoken terror radiating from her core that said she thought he wasn't coming back.

This time, though, she might actually be justified. "Listen," he said putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll come back. No matter what happens, even if…" He hesitated. "Even if I can't save her, I'll come back. I promised, didn't I? That as long as you needed me, I'd stay with you. I'm your knight, no matter what Blackpearl seems to think, and as long as you're alive, I'll have something to live for." He waited, wondering if that had been at all helpful. "Alright?" he asked, when she still didn't answer.

Pearl wouldn't look at him, keeping her eyes focused on the ground. The uneasy rhythm of her core faded suddenly into silence; not calmed, but shut away. She'd been doing that a lot lately. At first he thought it was Blackpearl, trying to get rid of him, but now he realized she was trying to keep from adding to his worries with her own.

"Don't say things like that," she said, prodding at a pebble in the road with her toe. "Why do you do things assuming you're going to fail? Every time. I've always found it…really hard to listen to, here." She put a hand to her core. "Because I know you can do it, and I don't know why you don't believe it yourself. I know you can, Vadise believes you can, Bud and Lisa too. Even Viridian…" She glanced over her shoulder to where they were waiting for her. "You're the only one who wavers, back and forth like a broken string. It hurts." Her fingers tightened on the material of her dress. Suddenly she pulled away, as if embarrassed by her long speech.

Then she spun back, a determined sort of fire in her eyes. "So, you're supposed to say 'I will bring her back. No matter what.'" She watched him intently now. "Because if you come back without her, I don't think I could stand it. The sound of a broken heart."

For a moment, she let the barrier drop, and the sound from her core was a low, pure tone, as infectious as her former anxious song. He caught the note and tried to send it back, tried to communicate how much he wanted to believe it, if nothing else.

Pearl smiled and turned away, running quickly down the road towards Viridian. "Wait for me!" she called, even though they weren't, technically, moving.

"Interesting," Sierra said from where she had been waiting silently. "Having seen both forms, I suspect she is actually the stronger half. The other is physically superior, but there is a weakness deep inside, whereas this one…she has a core of steel."

Her analytical tone was annoying, but Elazul could hardly argue with her. _She's like a different person, but I guess it's not a bad thing. I didn't really want her to be helpless forever…did I?_ He watched Pearl rejoin the twins, obviously trying to radiate confidence.

Bud looked at her as she ran up, then peered back up the path. "Is he going alone, then?" he asked loudly, sounding surprised.

"How romantic," Lisa sighed. "Alone into the depths of the Underworld…"

Viridian snorted. _"Good thing its _not_ alone. If Sierra wasn't going too, he'd probably get lost."_

Elazul decided to pretend he couldn't actually hear them anymore. Taking a deep breath or three, he turned to Sierra. "Let's go."

They passed through the gates and worked their way between the closely packed, overgrown graves. "Those children are remarkable too," Sierra commented. "You would think the danger didn't occur to them at all."

"Oh, I think they're smarter than they act. That's just how they deal with being worried." Elazul stopped in front of the large tombstone, its weathered black carvings even less distinct at night. "They're all probably worried," he said quietly. "Not just Pearl and Viridian, or the twins. Jennifer, Mark, Rachel, or Rosemary or whoever she is right now. Everyone who knows, everyone who saw that monster run through the village. They don't know anything about Drakonis or the Underworld, but they all worry about Ren."

"Does that make it easier?" Sierra asked. "Knowing a lot of people care?"

"I don't know." Elazul shook his head. "It's just strange. That suddenly I care what all these random people think. That…" he stopped. "Why the hell am I trying to explain this to _you_?"

"I do not know." Sierra turned back to the crypt, disinterest in her very stance, but he thought her expression was sad, just for a second. "Possibly facing death brings out a revelatory side in some people."

She stepped up to the tombstone, but didn't call on any power. Instead she simply stood, tracing the faded symbols. "No one cares for Larc but myself," she said abruptly. "Even Vadise is more interested in a figure from a thousand years past, than in the person she practically raised. How can I blame her? He threw away everything we tried to give him, and yet…and yet...I want to bring him back. Perhaps that is selfish of me."

She shook her head rapidly, side to side and back again, before glaring at Elazul, practically daring him to comment. He figured that meant the brief insight session was over, and better not be mentioned to anyone else. Which was fine with him.

Sierra waited a moment longer, possibly gathering her thoughts, then stood up straighter and focused on the black marble in front of her. "Vadise," she murmured. "We are here." A faint hum grew in the air around her, and the golden horn on her head began to glow with a hazy light. Elazul almost thought he could see the image of the white dragon, hovering around and above her. She spoke, but to him it was only the suggestion of words. Sierra nodded, however, and laid her hand flat against the crypt.

White rings of light sprang outward from her touch, rippling along the surface. The markings on the rings were distinct, the same as the larger ones Vadise had used to halt the battle in the forest. They grew brighter and brighter and then faded, leaving their marks etched onto the stone as if by acid. In the middle of the circle, the black of the marble had become deeper, a portal into nothingness.

Sierra let out her breath and stepped back. The indistinct image of the dragon was gone from over her head, and she looked tired. "It was like trying to cut through wood with a paper axe," she said. "We are not wanted."

"You find that surprising?" Elazul tried to discern some point of light in the black gate, but found none.

"No, but I do find it disturbing. It means Drakonis is gaining control of the Underworld, otherwise he could not try to deny us entry."

"Did it work, though?" Elazul asked, still eyeing the strange opening. It didn't look like any of the other portals he had seen so far.

"I sensed the unfamiliar feel of another world," Sierra explained unhelpfully. "There is only one way to be certain." With that, she leapt forward, and the circle swallowed her without a trace.

_Don't stop to think about it._ Elazul told himself, and stepped through after her.

* * *

He had expected some sort of falling sensation, or possibly a long time in the dark, but the transition was nearly instantaneous, more like getting hit by a swift wind. It was dry and hot, but left him feeling strangely cold, as if a hand had reached inside and rifled briefly through his soul, searching for something.

Then there was red light all around, and the air became still and lifeless without a hint of a breeze. The walls were rough-hewn rock and the floor…Elazul decided not to look too hard at the floor. It seemed to be trying to crawl away from his feet without actually going anywhere. The faint chill of his passage through the portal remained, at odds with the surrounding temperature, and made him feel slightly ill.

Sierra was standing a few feet away, also looking like she was trying not to look at anything too hard. "It is exactly the same," she said quietly.

"Have you been here before, then?" Elazul asked.

"Once," she said, her eyes darting around the room. "I did not make it very far before Vadise pulled me back." She started resolutely towards a tunnel that could be seen leading off into the depths. Elazul followed her.

"Were you going after Larc that time too?" he asked. Usually he'd be perfectly content to leave her to her thoughts, but the silence here was so dense it begged to be disrupted.

"No." Sierra answered the question easily, which made him think the quiet bothered her as well. "I was chasing the soul of an evil bastard of a man, intent on making sure he stayed dead. I failed to do so, and he returned in a position of greater power than if I'd left him alive in the first place. A complete waste."

Elazul hadn't exactly been trying to put Sierra's past together in his head, but some of the pieces fell into place anyway. "Deathbringer," he stated.

"Do not call him that. Do not even dignify him with a family line. Irzoile. By calling someone by their name, you force them to be what they are, and not what they think they should be. Titles are walls that people build. Some should stand strong, while others should be stripped down and trampled into dust." Sierra's hands clenched into fists. "I hope the souls of the dead are ripping him to shreds even now."

Something swept suddenly past Elazul's ear, leaving behind it a thin whine, like an insect. An almost invisible swath of color darted just beyond the edge of his vision and back as he turned to follow it. "Ohhhh," came a voice, not quite out loud, not quite in his head. It laughed happily, the sound flying off and looping around Sierra almost like a physical being. "Welllcome baaack!"

"What is it?" Elazul hand went automatically to his sword, but he wasn't sure what good it would do against a breeze.

"Siiissster," whispered the voice. "Why ssso ssaaaad? Sso aaaangry! Leeet'sss plaaaay!" Sierra's knives flashed suddenly, slicing through the air.

"Get back!" she growled, and where her weapon struck, a strange shape hung briefly. Wispy and ghost-like, striped in blue and white, with a wide expression of surprise before it disappeared completely. Sierra waited a moment, then sheathed her knives.

"They are Shadoles," she said, her voice full of forced calm. "Servants of the Lord of the Underworld, supposedly, but I do not think they fill their roles well. Lost ones, without care or concern, they delight in everything and feed off the anguish of souls. You must be careful what thoughts you allow yourself, down here, or they will draw them out and drown you in your own mind. Until you become one of them." She closed her eyes briefly.

Elazul glanced around. He felt like he could still hear the voice of the Shadole, or perhaps more of them, hovering around somewhere. _Great. Nothing like someone telling you not to think of anything disturbing, to bring it all right up to the front of your brain._

"I will waste no more time on Irzoile. I am here for Larc," Sierra said quietly and evenly, like a mantra. She opened her eyes again and strode swiftly down the passage. "We must locate Olbohn and gain passage to the depths. I am sure there is nothing to interest us in the upper levels."

"You can say that again." Elazul brushed off the leftover voices and hurried after her. "I've been down some nasty hell holes in the course of my life, but this one really takes top place for sheer atmosphere."

"I doubt it gets any better further in," Sierra pointed out. Elazul just shrugged. _What's she trying to do, see if she can scare me back out?_

"So, Olbohn is an actual person," he mused as they paced quickly down the tunnel.

"What did you think he was?" Sierra asked.

"I don't know. I always assumed that the proverbial 'Wisdoms' were just exaggerated figures from history, or normal people who passed the title down between generations. I met a bird calling himself Pokhiel once, and wasn't exactly impressed. Pretty much figured Olbohn was a myth. Some swordsman takes over the Underworld, and decides he's somehow qualified to pass judgment on the dead? Psh, sounds like sheer arrogance to me."

"Judgment is the name given to my task by overworlders," a deep voice intoned. "Who lack a complete understanding."

Elazul turned slowly. A tall being stood near the wall a few paces back; they must have walked right past him, but in the narrow hall that seemed impossible. He was hard to ignore, tall and thin, with his face covered by a bright orange mask reminiscent of a carved pumpkin. He had too many arms, which was the best Elazul could pin it down to; every time he tried to focus enough to count, the number seemed to change.

"I simply provide a bridge, a road for souls to follow," Olbohn continued. "Not all are able, or willing, to follow it, and so remain here. Others tread the path lightly, and pass on. The 'judgment' lies in their own hearts."

"So," Elazul said, wondering if all Wisdoms were stuck in permanent riddle mode. "Are you in charge down here, then?"

"I am."

"Good. Point us to Drakonis."

Olbohn watched him, whatever expression he might have shown hidden behind the mask. "Drakonis," he repeated, with a possible touch of bitterness. "Hardly needs more aid."

"We are not here to join him," Sierra said quietly. Olbohn looked towards her.

"No, I suppose not, dragoon. You come to challenge Larc, then?"

"To claim him." Sierra stepped forward. "Send me to them."

Olbohn merely lifted an arm and gestured down the hall they had been following. "The road lies before you. I stop none from entering who wish it."

"It's leaving that's the catch, I suspect," Elazul muttered.

"Indeed." Olbohn stepped away from the wall and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Sierra called. "Surely you know some sort of shortcut?"

The Wisdom turned back. "Not at this time. Drakonis has disrupted the power of the Baptismal pool, sealed off the flames for his own uses. He has all the Shadoles catering to him now, as far as they will cater to anyone."

"What? How?"

"Most likely bribed them." Olbohn said with obvious disgust.

"Bribed them?" Elazul asked. "With what?"

"Almost anything will do, if it is distracting or colorful. Paints. Beetle shells. Chocobo feathers for all I know. I care not. They will become bored with him soon enough and return to me."

"Then Drakonis has taken over the Underworld completely?" Sierra asked. "Does this not bother you at all?"

Olbohn shrugged with several sets of shoulders. "It is a passing thing. He bends great power to his needs, and will mostly likely break free. Once he has left, things will return to normal."

"But Drakonis will destroy the world!"

"And what does that mean to me?" Olbohn asked reasonably. "My charge is here. As long as the cycle of souls needs to be maintained, the Underworld will exist, as it has existed for near a thousand years. If there is a greater number of the dead for a while, then so be it. If the overworld turns to dust and all life ceases, then there are no more new souls, and my charge is ended. Either way, it concerns me not at all."

"There must be some way for us to reach him in time!" Sierra exclaimed as he moved to leave. "Surely you do not plan to simply let him win!"

Olbohn continued on his path for a moment, then paused. With a slight sigh he turned again. "There is a possibility, but I suspect you will not like it."

"Well, everything else up to this point has been no end of fun," Elazul said. "Can't expect it to last forever."

Sierra glared at him, but Olbohn didn't even look. "When the living enter the Underworld, usually they are drawn to those they seek. Your target, or targets, are with Drakonis in the deepest levels. I cannot send you directly to them due to the red dragon's influence over the Shadoles. However, there may be others that call strongly enough to you to bring you closer, at the very least."

"Others?" Sierra asked quietly. "You mean, others who have died?"

"Yes. Friends, perhaps, allies. Family is usually the easiest, if there are any who have chosen to remain here."

"The things that bind souls to the Underworld and prevent them from passing on," Sierra said quietly. "Sorrow. Regret. A desire for revenge, perhaps." She lowered her head for a moment. "I suspect my clan will be here still. Send us, then."

Olbohn held up a hand. "I cannot send you anywhere. That is their job."

"Whose? The Shadoles?" Elazul asked. "But I thought you said they were all working for Drakonis now."

"They are, but I also said they are not the most loyal of workers. They may find you intriguing enough to take to the lower levels, if not directly to him." The Wisdom snapped his fingers, and after a long moment, a couple of Shadoles wavered rather hesitantly into being.

"Whatcha caaaaalling us for? We're buuuusssy," one whined, but Olbohn was nowhere to be found. "Ehhh? Old guy's playing jooookes now?" Its eyes fell on Sierra. "Ohhh! Prettyyyy!" it cooed, spiraling around her and ruffling her fur in passing. "I liiiike you!"

"Good," Sierra snapped. "Take me to my family."

"Faaaamily?" the Shadole pondered this. "More doggies? Awwww, okaaay!" There was a loud pop, and both disappeared, leaving Elazul to stare dumbfounded at empty space.

"Brilliant, Sierra," he muttered, and turned to the second Shadole. It hung in the air, watching him with a strange, fixed gaze.

"You want to go too?" Its voice lacked the random inflection of the other's. Elazul's eyes narrowed.

"That depends. Where did you take her?"

"Poor thing, poor thing," the Shadole purred. "Don't you feel sorry for her? Wants to see her family! Why wouldn't we help? Want to go too?" It asked again, still not moving.

Elazul didn't like the idea of visiting random spirits in the Underworld. There was too much that could go wrong. "No," he said. "You seem a little saner than the rest. Take me to Drakonis."

The Shadole acted like it hadn't heard. "Sane? I? How nice of you. What makes you think so?"

"You don't talk like the other ones."

"You noticed?" It executed a lazy backflip in the air. "Awww. That's cute, but you're still not observant enough. I'm insulted. I remember you, after all."

Elazul frowned; that voice _was_ familiar, and not in a good way. Suddenly it caught. "You were the black thing! The monster that attacked Domina!"

"Bingo! I'd give you a prize, but I don't like you. I wanted more time out there, but you ruined all the fun." The Shadole bobbed closer. "Do you know how hard it is? Always stuck here in the darkness, in the flames. We can't remember who we were, or even what we were…we simply are, now. Then to get a chance to experience, once again, the life I had lost, only to have it _snatched away from me after such a short time?_" The thing ended on a high pitched shriek.

"How touching," Elazul said flatly. "Guess what, _I don't care._ Maybe you should have thought about trying to garner sympathy _before _you started breaking stuff and killing sproutlings."

"Sproutlings? Pshhhh, they're nothing. Useless, soulless, empty shells. You don't care about _that_ thing, do you? No, I know what really bugs you. It's because I decided to look like _her,_ isn't it." Elazul hissed between his teeth, but it took no notice, merely drifted from side to side in no particular pattern.

"Yes…" it murmured, lost in memory. "She was so easy to tap, her mind was wide open. I saw her come in with the red one, and I just snagged some of her memories and hopped back out before their passage could close. Sooooo eeeaaasssy." It floated closer. "We can read minds, you know. It's fun!"

"Can you now?" Elazul tried to keep a grip on his patience. Somehow he had to get this thing to take him to the lower levels.

"Oh yes. You're thinking of her now, yes? Because I said it, but also because she's always hanging around in your thoughts, right?" The Shadole giggled and edged even closer. "She's pretty, right? A nice person? Says crazy stuff sometimes, but always makes you laugh?"

"That's enough," Elazul snapped. "Stop messing around and take me to her, then, if you're so interested."

"Nahhhh," The Shadole drawled, drifting right up into his face. "You keep those memories instead, why don't you? They're much better than reality right now."

Elazul let go the reins of his temper and lashed out, grabbing onto the obnoxious creature, digging his fingers into its side. It felt like trying to hold a handful of dried snakeskin, except shed skins did not trying to writhe away like living creatures. "I said _enough! _Hold still!" He snatched at his sword with his other hand and laid it flat against the thing's throat. "I don't know if you things can be killed, but if I recall our previous encounter correctly, you can be made very uncomfortable. So behave and take me downstairs _right now_, or I will cut you into so many pieces you'll be spending the rest of eternity trying to figure out which goes where!"

The Shadole squirmed a bit. "You shouldn't be able to _do_ that! No one should be able to _touch_ us!"

"Maybe your little excursion did more than fix your tone-deafness." Elazul tightened his grip. "Shall we find out how much?"

"I don't feel like playing!" it continued to whine. "Alright! We'll go, but I can't take you to the dragon. He won't let me."

"Fine." Elazul hadn't really expected it to be that easy anyway. "Just take me _somewhere_ closer."

"Heeeeee," the Shadole let out a long thin gasp that might have been a laugh. "As you wish."

The air twisted around them, and Elazul felt the creature wriggle out of his grasp just before it came back into focus. When he looked around, the hall looked pretty much the same, except slightly darker, and no Shadole.

"Damn," he swore. _How am I supposed to know if this is anyplace useful? _He sighed and sheathed his sword. _Oh well. Got that out of my system anyway._

The floor sloped noticeably downward in one direction, so he figured that was the way to go. Now that he thought about it, the atmosphere was significantly more dense now; he suspected the Shadole had actually taken him pretty far. Without Sierra for company, there was nothing to take his mind off analyzing the feel of the place.

It felt something like the gathering of energies in Jajara's fortress, but less forceful. What it lacked in strength, however, it made up for in sheer pervasiveness, clinging to his skin, getting into his blood with every breath he took. Elazul wondered if it was like the poisons that masqueraded as air in some long abandoned mines. The kind that killed you before you realized you couldn't breathe.

Which brought up another good point. Was it possible to die in the Underworld? Did it just mean your soul didn't have to go so far? Did it make you automatic Shadole material? Now that was a nasty thought.

_Why didn't I ask any of these things before we came down here?_ Elazul mused. Of course, he had assumed Sierra wouldn't just disappear at the first opportunity.

No, that wasn't fair. He doubted Sierra had meant to leave him behind, no matter how little confidence she had in his being useful. She probably had assumed the Shadoles would take both of them, there was no way she could have calculated the odds of one of them holding a grudge.

_Revenge, huh._ Elazul sighed. A useless concept, one that trapped people into paths they never should have taken. Sort of like this one. _Except_, he tried to remind himself, _you're not really here for revenge. The most important thing is to get Ren back, and if you can stick a sword in Drakonis' eye on the way, well, that's just extra benefits._

The anger that had been simmering in the back of his mind was starting to fade, smothered by the dead air and sheer dullness of the place. He followed tunnel after tunnel, always picking the downward turns, but it didn't seem to take him anywhere new. For all he knew it didn't _go_ anywhere; it could be just like the paths in the white forest, designed to walk a person around in circles until they went insane.

There was a faint squelching noise off to one side, only noticeable because of the surrounding silence. Elazul glanced in its direction as a shape launched itself out of the wall and attached itself to his right arm, followed by a hissing sound like acid as it tried to eat its way through the stone. He flung it off just as quickly, sending it sailing through the air to splatter against the rock. Just before the scattered bits disappeared back into the wall, he thought it vaguely resembled the black thing that ran away from him and Sierra in Domina.

Looking back over his shoulder, he was certain he saw more of them dash quickly out of sight behind rocks, or into the floor itself. "Might as well come out," he said, drawing his sword again. "I know you're there." There was no answer, but suspicious ripples along the walls let him know something was paying attention.

"Underworld vermin," he muttered, but kept his weapon out as he continued walking. The brief encounter had snapped all his senses back into full awareness; he hadn't realized how much of a walking daze he'd been slipping into.

_That,_ he suspected, was the true danger of the place. The silence and the heavy air made a deadly combination, blanketing the mind until anything could creep up behind you unnoticed.

He continued in slightly strained peace for a little further, but he could hear things behind him. Sometimes they would get closer, then fall back quickly as he started to turn. After one such glance backwards, he looked forward to be greeted by a shrill hiss and an incoming face full of elongated fangs. Bringing his arm up hastily, his sword left a trail of old cloth behind it as it sliced the thing in half, dissipating as it fell.

A second creature leapt from the wall to his left, clawed hands extended from under its dirty grey robe. Elazul caught it just in time and sent it to join the first, before spinning around to forestall anything trying to take advantage of the distraction. Behind him, quite a few beings had given up on any pretense of stealth and were creeping forward.

_I could take them,_ he thought, eyeing the tarnished pieces of animated armor and skeletal remains. It was a sad lot, reminiscent of the lost monsters in the tower of Leires. _But I'm sure there's no shortage. That Shadole's probably gone to tell the whole population where the fun is. _If he wore himself out fighting vampires and zombies, he'd never make it to the bottom, much less be able to face Drakonis.

"Tch, fine," he muttered at the gathering, then turned and ran. He'd gotten a good distance away too, before some of the monsters found their voices and raised them in pursuit. He waited until he felt one close behind, then turned and sent a gleaming sickle of light flying from the edge of the sword. The nearest monsters screamed and broke apart, and most of the rest scrambled back for cover.

_Thank the goddess for that. _Elazul didn't want to question the recent reliability of his blade's hidden powers, it seemed like tempting fate. Spying a corner ahead, he dove around it, hoping to find some sort of crossroads or junction he could lose the rest at.

"Over here," a female voice whispered from one side. Searching for the source, his eyes fell on a humanoid, shrouded form, beckoning from a small tunnel. Without hesitation, he dodged into the opening, and only after he had followed the figure for a ways did he stop to wonder why he had trusted it so readily.

"Who are you?" he called, drawing to a halt, but before any answer was given, his eyes were drawn to the area just ahead. There, the tunnel widened into a large, dimly lit cavern. Holes perforated the walls on either side, leading into rooms or smaller caves, and all about the central area milled the spirits of the dead.

"What the…?" Elazul brushed past his guide and ran forward, staring at the people around him. Some were walking around, looking perfectly normal, while others seemed to have shrunk in themselves, sitting crouching against the walls or in the mouths of offshooting tunnels. They were Jumi, all of them, he was certain, even the ones that seemed to have faded into shapeless, barely recognizable forms.

Others were easier to recognize. "Esmerelda," he said quietly, but the girl didn't look up from where she was sitting with three others. They looked nearly identical to her, save for the cut of their clothes, and the way all color had faded from their bodies, leaving their sister an island of green in their midst.

"She can neither see nor hear you," his guide explained, gliding up behind him. "It is the Baptism of Flame that allows the living to interact with the dead, and you seem to have come by a different route."

Elazul turned to her warily. She seemed just like the rest of them, if a little further gone, degenerated to the point where individual features were no longer discernable. "Then why," he asked, though a slight suspicion was nagging at his thoughts. "Can you?"

"It is my ability, taken a strange form," she said quietly. "In life I was a prophetess, able to see the future, however hazy. In death I see much clearer, but instead, only the present."

There was no denying it now. Here, where the Jumi gathered, past and present. _What sick, twisted, idiot powers that be decided I needed this on top of everything else right now? If I ever see that Shadole again, it's dead. Or something close to it. _Elazul sighed and lifted a hand in an almost defeated gesture. "Mother."

The specter let out an thin sort of sigh to echo his own. "I had hoped you wouldn't figure it out."

"Which is why you gave it away like that," Elazul pointed out bluntly. She gave no answer, simply closed her eyes. The blurry form began to sharpen, fill with color. Her hair, vibrantly blue in the darkness of the cave, fell to her waist in a loose braid, slightly disheveled to match her clothes. Everything exactly the same as it had been the last time he saw her, plunging to her willful death from a high ledge. Only her eyes were different, as she opened them again to look at him. Clear and intent, unclouded by the madness and grief that had consumed her before.

"I suppose you're right." Sappho regarded him silently for a while. "Part of me wanted to hide from you, out of shame, and yet the other part hoped that you would seek me out. In the end I compromised, but it didn't last long, did it?"

Elazul looked away, letting his gaze wander to the other Jumi instead. "I did not come here to find you," he said, and was shocked at how cold it came out. This was an old anger, a long-dull pain, and yet it flared up again so quickly.

"I know that," she said, a hint of a smile in her voice. "After all this time, I would be disappointed if you were still chasing your mother's ghost."

"Hah," Elazul turned back to her angrily. "Your ghost? Perhaps not, but I-" _I spent it chasing your memory. I focused on revenge and it got me nowhere. The only time in my life I succeeded in what I set out to do, and it was wrong. After that, everything I touched, tried, looked for..._ The words died before he could even start to speak them. "No. There's no point in blaming the dead for the stupidity of the living."

"You can say whatever you need to," Sappho told him calmly. "I have spent all my time here realizing what I left behind. The madness blinded me, kept me from seeing, but now I know, and I will never forgive myself."

Elazul shook his head. "It was a long time ago. I got past it, left it behind me."_ Mostly,_ he added silently.

"Are you certain?" Sappho reached out, her fingers brushing the edge of the feathered disk that pinned to his headpiece. "This was mine, I believe."

He stepped back out of her reach quickly. "At one point, it was a reminder. Now it's just habit. Don't try to assign some kind of deep significance to random things, I don't have time for reminiscing. If you wanted to be part of my life, maybe you should have stuck around for more of it. As for why I'm here, that is exactly the reason I don't have time to explain!" He tore his gaze away from the crowd of deceased Jumi, and headed for the tunnel again.

"You're cold, Elazul." Her voice followed him, sad and wistful. "Did I do this to you? If only I had…"

He slowed to a gradual halt, but didn't turn around. "No. It's not that. I just…can't think about this right now. I can barely focus, this place is trying to suffocate me. I need to stay angry, I need to keep going, to find her." He looked back. "I can't afford to get lost in the past right now! Don't you see? I don't care how cold it sounds, you're _dead_ and you've been dead for _decades._ She's _alive_ and she needs my help!"

"Who?" Sappho asked, apparently unfazed.

It was probably a perfectly reasonable question, but Elazul just hissed through his teeth and turned back to the tunnel, breaking into a run again. There was a rush of wind and something shot past him, and he skidded to a halt as his mother reappeared in front of him. Sure, she seemed a little transparent, but he couldn't quite bring himself to run _through_ her. "What do you _want?_" he yelled instead. "Just leave me alone!"

Sappho looked unimpressed. "I believe you outgrew temper tantrums ages ago. Please listen to me. You will not get very far here, running blindly like that. Whatever goal you are following, it will not help to call the Shadoles to you with despair."

"They dropped me here to get rid of me," Elazul said. "I don't think they're interested."

"Of course they are. I doubt they've ever encountered a living _Jumi_ soul. Something new is always fascinating. They left you here on purpose, I'm sure. Closest to that which would cause the most…unease."

Elazul sighed. "Well they got that in one. Fine then, do you know something? Some way to keep me from just going along with their game?"

"I can lead you through the labyrinth," Sappho replied. "I can see the pattern, the hidden passages. Let me help you. I failed in my calling as a parent once already. Give me this chance."

Elazul suddenly felt, of all things, really embarrassed. He had often, in the more bitter depths of his mind, wanted to hear just such an admission from her. Yet now he couldn't accept it, not with a clear conscience. "Don't apologize," he said, not looking at her. "I told you I was over it and I meant it. I can't blame you for anything anymore. After all, I tried to take the same route at one point. Didn't quite have the spine to be so decisive about it though."

"That's because you're still sane," Sappho said, the almost-smile returning. "Only the truly mad would give up on life."

"Ha." Elazul shook his head. "I could refer you to a few people who would _love _to argue over my sanity. No, I just got lucky. All the way out in the middle of the desert, and I managed to find something worth living for. I didn't give a damn about myself anymore, but I couldn't leave someone else to die. So I…sealed it all away. I forgot how to see, how to dream, deliberately. I focused everything on protecting Pearl, my guardian, my life, and let go of the rest."

"Pearl? Little Pearl? She has reverted again?"

Elazul blinked. "Wh…wait, you knew Pearl? Not Blackpearl, but _Pearl?_"

Sappho nodded. "It was a long, long time ago. We were children together. I cannot believe it. They said you had found a guardian, but I never thought…"

"They?"

"Rubens, Esmerelda. Did you think I wouldn't speak to the dead, to try to gather some news of my own son? They fade over time, but when they first arrive, their memories are lucid and flawless. It's what has kept me awake and aware, waiting for each soul to join me, hoping every time that it won't be yours next."

Elazul looked at the crowd of slowly milling ghosts. Were they all killed by Sandra, or were these more than even she could have brought down? The number seemed far larger than any one person could hunt down, even in a Jumi lifetime. If he looked closer, would he recognize more of them? That would bring back more of the past that he could face at one time. He turned away quickly. "Then Pearl," he said, dragging his thoughts away. "Was not always…her other self?"

Sappho looked thoughtful. "No, however-"

"It's not your story to tell. I've heard that one before." Elazul shrugged. _Blackpearl has some explaining to do. That should be fun._

"It's not your guardian you pursue through the Underworld, though," his mother continued. "Is it?"

"No, Pearl is safe. As safe as possible in a world under threat, that is." He focused back on the present. "You said you could help. I need to go-"

"You seek the lair of the dragon, the construction site of the floating castle, the soul of the great ship." Her eyes unfocused a bit, as if looking through walls. "You seek the girl with golden hair and dead eyes, the red dragoon, the path through the flames."

Elazul fell silent for a moment. "That pretty much sums it up. Except I didn't know about any floating castle."

"That is what I see. I thought I'd put it in perspective for you."

"Ha, you realize this is way over my head already, an extra castle or two isn't going to make a difference. I'm not turning back."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. From the way you were talking before, I was beginning to think you'd lost all sense of purpose and determination."

"I…" Elazul hesitated. "I'm getting it back. Or possibly borrowing it from someone who's not using it at the moment." He gestured at the hall ahead of them. "Lead on."

* * *

They passed through seemingly endless, silent tunnels. Sappho floated along with ethereal serenity, occasionally pausing to examine the walls or a rock that held some invisible significance. Elazul watched her intently; it helped him ignore the pressing feeling that _he_ was being watched.

"Well?" His mother paused finally, looking back at him. "Won't you even use the little time we have to talk to me?"

"Aren't you supposed to be concentrating? If you're stalling so we can have some sort of parental _chat_, so help me I'll-"

"I simply think it would help to talk, it won't slow me up in the slightest." She went back to searching the wall, as if to prove a point.

Elazul broke off, watching the crawling floor for a while. "I really can't think of a damn thing to say." Somewhere off to the side he thought he heard something giggle.

Sappho sighed. "I suppose it would be motherly of me to tell you to watch your language, but I think it would be pointless." She turned back to the wall and began following it, stopping every few steps to concentrate. Elazul trailed after her, running the fingers of his stone hand along the wall, trying to figure out what she was looking for. "I'll get you started then," she said, looking up suddenly. "What the hell happened to your arm there?"

"Language," Elazul muttered, then glanced down at his arm; he'd practically stopped thinking about it. Strange how quickly one got used to things when there was nothing you could do about it. "It was a gift," he said, flexing the fingers thoughtfully. There was a burn mark along the side from the acid spewing dark thing; he wondered how to get rid of that. "From a core hunter named Sandra. No," he corrected himself, as a thought occurred to him. "Alexandra."

He must have hit some mark, because Sappho stiffened. Obviously the name meant something to her, because she spun around and shot towards him. "Let me see," she hissed. "Your core."

Elazul sighed and undid the top of his shirt so she could inspect it. He had been hoping to keep the topic secret, one, because he was sick of discussing it, and two, because he suspected it would remind her of how his father had died, and that might send her over the edge again.

Sappho only stared however, then turned away, hands clenching into fists. "Lately," she whispered. "The dead have sung but one song. The name of their betrayer and murderer, Alexandra. Every mention of her strikes like a dagger, the fulfillment of a disaster I might have prevented."

"What?" Elazul's head jerked up from fixing his shirt, but Sappho continued ahead, not looking back.

"I knew," she said grimly. "I saw it, I knew what would happen to Alexandra if Florina became Clarius. Not in any specific terms, but I could see the dark cloud hanging over her. They were so close, those two children! Florina was a miracle, a beautiful, shining example of what some of us could still remember, and so many were blinded. They saw only her and forgot the second one, hiding in the shadow of her light.

"I tried to warn them, tried to stop them. Not just because of Alexandra, but for Florina's sake, for all our sakes. The faded, dying city could not be revived by putting a child on the Clarius throne, setting up a temporary beacon to chase away the shadows." Sappho shook her head violently. "But I never told them exactly what I saw. I was angry when they would not listen. I fled the city, left my knight, my sister, and chose your father. We went together, to find a solution, a permanent one…" She stopped finally, her image flickering in and out.

"But I see now, I should have told them, I should have. I could have prevented it, all of it!" She pointed angrily back the way they had came. "How many has she murdered, how many other cores trapped? And now she hunts you, the only hope I could leave this world!" She ended on a high note, but even that was drowned out by a babble of voices that swooped in from all around.

The Shadoles shrieked and giggled, swirling around like a whirlwind, voices indistinguishable from each other. Elazul gave a cry as they closed in, but Sappho merely raised a hand. "Get away, you filthy remnants!" she snapped. "You cannot touch me, my soul resides in the overworld still!" There was a flash of light and the colorful shades spun backwards, blinking out of existence or fleeing back into the walls.

"Are you alright?" Elazul hurried forward. His mother looked at him, perplexed.

"Aside from being dead? Yes." She closed her eyes for a moment and her image stabilized. "They can't get to me, and they know it, but that doesn't stop them from trying now and then. I was a fool to let myself slip so far." When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was calm and collected. She turned and slipped through the wall without a sound.

Elazul waited for a moment, then longer. He was just beginning to wonder if 'so far' meant 'too far' and thus 'goodbye', when the wall in front of him dissolved away, revealing a new tunnel beyond. Sappho stood framed in the entrance. "That was a bit further than I thought," she explained. "Come on, this way."

He ducked into the hole, following his mother's faintly luminescent ghost, since the light from the other hall quickly faded behind them. "Is anything going to follow us?" he asked, glancing behind them.

"Not while I am here," Sappho said easily. "They know better. I have been driving them away from the rest of the Jumi dead for a long time. The only reason they're bothering me now is…" she trailed off and looked significantly over her shoulder at Elazul.

"Ah." He stared blankly into the darkness. "I suppose I should be flattered."

"You should be. They do not concern themselves with weak souls," she picked up the pace slightly, following the winding path.

Elazul snorted softly. _Right, and I've been an absolute pillar of strength lately. Whatever, I already knew Shadoles don't have their heads screwed on straight._ "What did you mean," he asked, shifting the subject away from himself. "Your soul remains in the overworld?"

"My core remains intact," she said without looking back. "As long as it survives, I am linked to the surface. Not that there is much I can do with that link right now."

"Sandra has it! She took it from Ren in Polpotoa!" Elazul exclaimed.

"Yes. I have felt nothing since she acquired it. I do not know what power she is employing, but it is quite capable of cutting me off from my own soul, while still maintaining the life bound to it."

"Life?" Elazul frowned. "But-"

"Hmm, perhaps life is the wrong word. Essence, perhaps, spirit. Our cores remain part of us even when we die. The only way to permanently sever that bond…" She took a deep breath. "Is to break the stone."

"Like…" Elazul let the sentence hang.

"Yes, like your father. I saw you seeking him in the great hall. Or possibly avoiding doing so."

Elazul shook his head. "I did not except to find him here. Sierra said, regret, pain, sorrow, perhaps revenge. The things that keep souls in the Underworld. He died protecting his family, I can't imagine…that he'd have any regrets at all."

Sappho stopped and turned, a little bewildered. "You understand that? You comprehend it so easily?"

"Of course." Elazul was confused now. "What better way to die than protecting something or someone you care for?"

"It took me so long." His mother watched him with a strange expression. "So long to realize that, to accept it, but you…you say it so easily." Suddenly she laughed, a short, sharp sound. "And would follow that ideal to the depths of the Underworld, without even sufficient knowledge to forge the proper path!" She started walking again, still chuckling to herself. "You really are Xanthus' son."

"Were you in doubt?" Elazul continued after her. "On second thought, please don't answer that."

"Though I suspect you have far too much of myself in you," Sappho said slyly. "That is exactly the sort of comment I used to drive your father up the wall with." She sighed, a long slow breath. "I am happy for you, Elazul."

"What?"

"That you have found something to protect, and perhaps more."

"Dare I ask…"

"Well, why else are you chasing her into the Underworld?"

"I could possibly have the best interests of the world at heart, but feel free to jump to conclusions," he muttered. "Everyone else does."

"It is a mother's ultimate hope for her child, you know."

"Is it. After all that time filling my head with mana swords and giant trees, you tell me what you really wanted was for me to find some nice girl and settle down?"

Sappho sighed again. "I take it back, I was never this annoying," she said, and lapsed into silence. Slowly light grew ahead of them and they stepped out into the relative brightness of wider corridor.

Elazul waited while his mother looked up and down the hall, as if trying to sense something. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly. "I just thought that you of all people would understand."

"Understand what?" Sappho turned and headed to the left, hopefully with more reason than a mental flip of a coin.

"She's _human_, mother," he insisted, trying to impart some urgency to it by drawing on their relationship.

"And?" Sappho shrugged. "So are we, for the most part. Or when you look in the mirror, do you just see a rock? Only rocks have no _feelings_, Elazul!"

Elazul froze, coming to a standstill in the empty corridor. "I do have feelings," he said. "That's why I don't want her to get hurt. What is so confusing about that? I just don't want to tell everyone and their _dog_ about it, because I can't allow it to go anywhere! That doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

"Except it does mean exactly that." His mother sighed, stopped, and turned around again. "People have a horrible habit of thinking they have some inner self, some true self that no one else can see, but I'll tell you now, it's a lie. The face you show the world, that is who you are. We are defined by how other people see us, bonds are only strengthened by use. If you don't bother to let anyone know how you feel…then it doesn't exist. Simple as that."

"Then maybe it would be better if I let it die completely."

Sappho's eyes flashed at that, angry. "Listen to me…your father was my _life,_" she said with such intensity Elazul took a step back, confused at the sudden twist of subject. "When he died, I was devastated. I saw his core shatter, felt it, I thought the world was ending, it was that strong. I hated myself for being unable to save him, hated him for leaving me, hated the person who did it to us. It was like I'd been torn in two, and I wanted nothing more to find my other half and rejoin him…

"But do you think I ever once regretting loving him? It hurt because I loved him, if I had never cared, it might have been easier. He died because he loved me, and you, to protect us both. If neither of us had cared, it might have been different, but not once, would I exchange one moment of our time together, not for anything."

Elazul stayed silent, unable to respond to that. He wasn't quite sure what point she was trying to make. That he should rush ahead and let Ren throw her life away because at least they would have been happy for a little while? _Not while I can prevent it._

"Do you know," he said quietly. "I think you would have gotten along great with Ren, she has the same mentality. Always living in the moment, maybe because she can't remember much past that, but maybe because that's just how she is. I wish you could have met her."

"But I have." Sappho smiled slightly before moving forward again. "She is the one who found my core in the shore city, is she not? I remember her speaking to me, though I could not answer. It is a rare soul indeed that recognizes the life within a stone."

"Yes," Elazul said, feeling the uneven rhythm of his own core. _Blue,_ Ren had said. _Like the last raindrops illuminated by the first rays of sunlight. _The sounds that colors make. He'd told her it was ridiculous, but it was uncannily similar to how Jumi cores actually called to each other, a combination of music and light. "She knows exactly how to listen, how to see past the surface and dig up what I thought was hidden so deep even I couldn't find it again. My past, my old dreams, everything I thought I put away she found and brought back."

"And yet you don't resent her for it?" Sappho said knowingly.

"No, that's the strange part. She made it all seem worthwhile again, because she's the key. She doesn't even know it, but…" Suddenly the anger flared back, breaking through the monotony of the endless tunnels. "And _just_ when I was starting to try to think about it, this _Drakonis_ decides to force the issue. I wanted to help her get her past back, but not like this…goddess, if she remembers everything now…I have to be there, she's going to need _someone_." He started to run forward, past his guide, and came up short.

In front of him a blank, rough wall stretched across the runnel. "A dead end?" He whirled to face Sappho again, but she brushed right past him.

"Hold that thought," she said, and beckoned him forward. As he approached the wall, flames raced up the surface, causing him to jump back. The fire only rose higher, spiraling around and pulling away, forming a circular gate that stretched from ceiling to floor.

"This," Sappho explained calmly. "Is the bottom of the Underworld. It is often called the Gate of Despair, because only those souls who have lost all hope would pass it and seek oblivion beyond. It only opens when it detects a true need."

Elazul watched the gate flicker and dance. Occasionally he thought he saw faces emerge briefly, then disappear. Sometimes laughing, sometimes screaming, sometimes simply watching without curiosity. "Fitting that Drakonis would take up residence in the nastiest place he could find." He took a step forward, but Sappho still blocked the way and he had to stop again. "What now?" he asked. "After all the trouble to get here, is it going to kill me to walk through it or something?"

"It might try."

"_Try_ I can deal with."

Sappho nodded. "I believe you." She reached up to brush the hair out of his eyes with an ethereal hand. It passed by with only the slightest stirring of air, and a sad smile crossed her face. "But this is as far as I can go."

"Oh." Elazul found he once again, couldn't think of anything to say. Then it struck him. "Alexandra," he said. "We _are_ going to stop her. Ren, for one, will never give up on it, I'm certain…" he glanced hesitantly at the gate. _As long as I can get her out of this._ "We'll get your core back, and the mana sword too, and then-"

"No." Sappho shook her head firmly. "I have no intention of returning to the overworld, not if the goddess herself called."

"But-"

"I had my chance and gave it up. Besides, what is left for me there, now? No, don't look insulted. You will get along just fine without me, and you know it. I will remain here and comfort the dead. If they know what it is you are doing, maybe some of them will regain their hope. That's what I always intended for you, you know. To return the hope for the future to our people."

"No pressure, then," Elazul sighed quietly.

"I wish I could hand you some prophecy, some truth to go with it, but my abilities were fading before I even left the city. By the time you were born I could see only the most hazy pictures, barely ideas."

"Never put much store by prophecy anyway. The future, I think, is a little too malleable for that."

"I wish you could have told that to some who always asked me for concrete views," Sappho smiled a little, to herself. "I can only offer advice really. I think, sometimes, you just have to focus on what _you_ really want. Everything else will fall into place."

"Isn't that called selfish?" Elazul glanced over his shoulder at the gate. "What kind of advice is…" He let the rest die as he looked back; she was already gone. He scanned the rest of the tunnel, but she'd faded as easily as mist in the dry air. "Not much for long, tearful goodbyes, eh? We must be related. Though I guess," he told the floor. "it would be a little impossible, anyway."

"Ssssshe's goooonnnee," whispered a feathery voice nearby. "Ssssoooo ssssaaaaadd."

"You again?" Elazul didn't bother looking for it.

"Agaaaaain?" The Shadole drifted into view. This one was blue and pink striped. "I'm just paaaasssssing throouuuugh."

"Yeah, like you things aren't all in on the same game." He took a step towards it and it scuttled backwards. _Good,_ he thought, and turned he attention to the gate.

"This is your last chaaaaaance," it purred behind him. "Come on, just go baaaack."

"Oh, you sound worried now. Drakonis is going to be pissed that you gave me a lift, isn't he? Especially straight to the person who could help me the most."

"Don't caaaare!" It sang, but a little unconvincingly.

"And then Olbohn, well, he was trying to be dignified but I got the impression he was _really_ annoyed with the mess you guys were helping to make of things."

The Shadole only made nothing but spluttering sounds for a minute. "Awww," it said, finally recovering. "It's just a gaaaaame."

"It was fun, loads, but I seem to have reached the final square ahead of you, so go away or I'll throw you through that gate."

"What, and have it warn Drakonis we are here?" A familiar voice said from behind him.

"Sierra!" Elazul exclaimed with false brightness as he turned. "What took you so long?"

From the state of her fur and armor, there had been a few more undead and a few less helpful ghosts on the dragoon's path. The look she shot in his direction pretty much wished them on him as well, along with all their relatives and a few extra. "You may look like you just floated down here on a cloud," she growled. "But you_ sound_ one note away from insanity, so shut up."

"Nice to see you too," he said as she stalked towards him. The Shadole gave a whistle and shot out of her path before she came close, but she didn't even glance at it.

"I," she said firmly. "Am going to kill Olbohn, for his idea of a shortcut." She stopped and looked at him appraisingly. "All right. Tell me how you made it down here without a scratch."

"Family secret."

Sierra's eyes narrowed. "You…are as bad as a Shadole," she snapped.

"Ouch." Elazul looked around for the actual Shadole, but it had sped off somewhere, which he found disturbing. "It's true though, I ran into a…dead relative who once had special abilities."

"You are giving me the short version to keep me from prying into the long version, aren't you?"

"Oh yes. You don't really want the long version anyway, do you?" He stared at her until she looked away. "Or would you like to tell me all about your trip too?"

"There is not really much to tell." Sierra sighed and ran her fingers through the fur of her tail a few times before giving up. "None of the dead could see me, but the monsters did not have that handicap." She shrugged. "Well, we are here, wherever 'here' is."

Elazul had never heard her sound so unsure of herself, it was a little worrying. He watched her for a second longer, then turned back to the gate. "Supposedly this leads to Drakonis."

"How long is it going to stay open?"

"I doubt there's any shortage of fuel for it, but we might as well move quickly."

"Yes," Sierra started forward. "Time moves differently in the Underworld, but any way you look at it, I suspect we have wasted too much already."

* * *

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_Honestly, this chapter is the result of one of the worst cases of writer's block I've had in a long time, and I'm just not happy with it. I meant it to be more concise, but it came out extremely rambling due to my only being able to force out a couple paragraphs a day, and none of them connecting properly to each other. This is actually the pared-down version, and it's still the longest one yet. I personally feel like it doesn't flow, but I can't figure out if it's all in my head. Bleh, I almost threw the whole thing out repeatedly (the chapter, not the story...), but I decided not to, because re-writing the whole thing would probably make it worse. Just post it and move on…_

_Okay okay I'm done. I know you guys all really wanted to listen to me whine, but…captive audience! Mwahahahaha…wait don't hit the back button!_

_Anyway, hopefully the next chapter will be done in a timely manner. I think I've cracked the writer's block, but…well, here's hoping._


	28. The Flames

_Okay, this is half a chapter. I am slowly piecing together the second half, but as I was thinking about how long it's taken me to get the _first_ half, I figured I probably should post something before everyone thinks I've died. With the holidays coming up and everything, it's not likely that I'll be able to finish the rest for a while, so I thought people might want half a chapter now as opposed to a whole chapter in like…January. Besides, it's still ten pages long, and that's longer than some of the early chapters, so hopefully it's not too short. :)_

_On that note, I have to apologize for not posting for so long. Combination writer's block, computer problems and general life. It happens. My writing has slowed to a trickle and I'm lucky to get three paragraphs out per day before walking away in frustration._

_So I have to thank Meeerf (and anyone who likes this story should also thank Meeerf) for a continuous stream of thoughtful and amusing e-mails making sure I'm still alive and writing and keeping me from hiding under my bed and convincing myself no one would notice._

_Also, Airess Byrd for flooding my inbox with reviews for _every_ chapter all at once and making me deliriously happy for a while. :D It really helped._

_

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_

28 – The Flames

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The space beyond the burning gate was a featureless grey blanket of swirling mist that swallowed the floor and the walls within a few feet, not unlike that which had shrouded the Tower of Leires. Well, Matilda had said that that fog was rumored to have sprung from the Underworld, perhaps this was the same. Which didn't speak much for their chances of simply blundering through it.

"Now what?" Elazul wandered over to where Sierra stood at the boundary of the gate, staring into the mist beyond.

"I do not know," she said. "I did not make it nearly this far before."

"Well, you're no help."

Sierra's head snapped towards him angrily, but her expression grew thoughtful. "I suppose I deserve that," she commented after a moment. "However, I do not suppose you have any better knowledge."

"None at all." They stared at each other for a while. "So," Elazul said finally. "Now that we've established both ourselves as utterly useless, shall we?" He gestured at the mist.

Sierra nodded and stepped forward. Suddenly there was a crackling sound and the floor beneath them trembled. A slit opened up along the base of the gate and a thin wall of flame shot upwards, causing the would-be intruders to scramble backwards. The fire reached the ceiling and then flickered out as quickly as it had sprung, taking the rest of the flames that had ringed the gate with it. Left behind was jagged, sharp looking stone, spikes protruding every which way from the wall.

"Hmm." Sierra snagged a loose rock from one of the walls and threw it through the gate. A searing beam of light shot from the side and struck it in midair, turning it instantly to dust. Quickly tracking the beam to its source, Elazul thought he saw a craggy face melding back into the stone.

"Hmm," he agreed. Sierra just glared at him, so he shrugged and started towards the gate again. "Maybe while its busy vaporizing me, you can sneak past," he suggested.

"Don't be ridiculous," the dragoon snapped. "We go together. Multiple targets might confuse it." Elazul nodded, and they charged the gate.

For a second, nothing happened, then the air burst into sizzling life. One strand of light hit the floor inches away from Elazul's feet, while another passed blindingly close to his eyes, causing him to stumble back again. Sierra leapt high over a third beam, touched the upper wall lightly and propelled herself away, landing next to him.

"So, what was that about multiple targets?" Elazul asked. There was no denying the faces in the wall now. He was certain he saw at least two, possibly a third, and they all seemed to be laughing at him.

"Oh…just shut up." Sierra sounded more tired than annoyed, and, oddly, more _normal_ than she ever had. "At least we know it's dodgeable."

"So do we find out if it's breakable as well, or just try to get past?"

"I would prefer to go through it rather than wasting energy fighting a wall," Sierra said reasonably. "But I doubt it will let us." She darted away from him, heading for one side of the gate. Elazul moved for the other half, keeping close to the edge to stay out of range of one face at least.

It worked, sort of. The face above him made no protest as he passed beneath it, but the rock right next to him began to twist and writhe, eye sockets struggling to open fast enough. _Oh no you don't,_ he thought, and brought his sword down hard on the half-formed features.

The rock proved surprisingly brittle, interrupted mid-transformation, and pieces flew everywhere. Light glinted off the blade, and he spun around just in time to intercept a bright ray fired from behind.

He held the sword in front of him, not sure how much of a barrier it would make, but not having much else in the way of options. The beam struck it…and reflected. The line of light bent, flying past Sierra's shoulder by a hairsbreadth and hitting the face she'd been fighting square in the forehead. The white dragoon flung herself aside as it screamed and shattered, throwing spikes of gold in all directions.

"Are you trying to kill me?" she yelped, landing and shifting quickly before the other one could track her.

"Sorry!" Elazul yelled as he dodged out of range again, taking refuge on the left side of the gate.

"Nevermind," she called from the right. "Can you do that again?"

"I don't know. Maybe." He peered cautiously around the edge and jerked back quickly as the golden beam struck the stone right by his head. He glanced at Sierra, but she just made encouraging motions with her hands. _Oh well, can't stay here all day._

He darted around the gate and to the side, hearing only the soft sizzle of a stray beam as it passed through the edge of his cloak and hit the floor in front of him. Bringing his sword up, he backed towards the source as ray after ray ricocheted off the blade from the front. Feeling the hum of gathering power just behind him, he spun and slashed almost blindly. His sword struck the wall just above the third face and sliced across it, dissolving it back into stone.

There was a whine and a rush of wind just past his ear, then a shriek from overhead. The fourth face had left its post and reformed just above the third, giving it a clear shot blocked only by Sierra's knife sticking out of its eye. It groaned and disappeared, leaving eerie silence once again, broken by the clatter of the knife hitting the floor.

Elazul spared it a glance; that knife had come closer than any of the flying lights. "You did that on purpose," he accused Sierra as she walked over.

"As you say. Next time then," she said, bending to retrieve her weapon. "I will let it shoot you."

"Next time?" Elazul scanned the sides of the gate, but the faces seemed well and truly gone. "Let's get going before there's a next time." He took a deep breath, trying to clear the confusion of battle from his head, but the air caught in his throat as his core chose that moment to protest the exertion. He stifled a gasp and put out a hand to avoid stumbling into the wall. It would be rather stupid to avoid flaming death rays just to impale himself on one of those stone spikes.

"Are you injured?" Sierra hurried over.

"No more than usual," he muttered. Sierra frowned.

"That should have stopped happening," she insisted. "Vadise said she…"

"Yes well, Vadise can-" He risked a glance up and bit off the rest of what Vadise could do. The dragoon looked genuinely concerned, though with her canine features, it might have been anything. "I'll be fine in a minute." _Come on,_ he told himself firmly. _I don't have time to cater to this. Go away._

The pain seemed to take the hint and faded, only to return with more urgency, and fade again, and again. Sierra was right, this wasn't just the usual, it had rhythm, a pull, and it was familiar…

Vadise's glade, Jajara's fortress, Akravator's mountain. It was the song of three mana stones, mixing, merging, not at all harmoniously. The patterns were clashing, all thrown together like buckets of paint and there, among them, a tiny thread, the barest sound, a flash of gold. _Ren._

"Do you feel it?" Sierra asked, her voice unnaturally loud next to him. _Don't ask stupid questions,_ he wanted to shout, but that would mean breaking concentration…the pattern was warping, reaching out…

He tensed, expecting another vision, but what filtered through his mind was barely a trickle, flashes of scenes that passed too quickly to be understood, each swept away by the turmoil of uncontained mana.

_Kesta, executing a complex maneuver with her swords, only to drop one mid-pass, looking up accusingly as Viridian's deep laughter sounded from nearby. _

_A girl with silver-white hair who reminded him strangely of Pearl, tossing colored balls of mana between her hands in increasingly complex patterns. _

_The mana knight again, locked in combat with a tall woman whose intricate spells nearly obscured the action in flashes of light, Anise…_

_Viridian and, oddly enough, Drakonis, sitting at a dragon-sized table in a well furnished cave, obviously discussing something and neither happy about it…_

_The great tree, trembling at its very roots as the fire consumed it, crying out in a voice that seemed to speak in all languages at once, loud and quiet at the same time…_

_Forward. Go forward. Somewhere there must be a need…eventually there will be…my children cry to me from the future…there must be…they will remember…remember!_

…and then it was gone, drifting away. The mist closed around him as he moved forward, reaching for something he knew, logically, was intangible.

Elazul stopped, blinking, as the pain faded with the music, leaving only fog all around. He could sense Sierra close by, but he couldn't see her, nothing but the mist flowing past. It moved rapidly, but he couldn't feel any wind to indicate whether it was moving or they were, and that was more disorienting than either one.

_Memories,_ Elazul thought. _Broken pieces, scattered to the wind._ "Are we too late?" he asked, mostly to himself.

"No," Sierra spoke from his left. "The mana remains, so he cannot have put it to use yet."

"I wasn't talking about Drakonis." Elazul started to step forward, then hesitated, unsure of the direction. The call of the released mana power seemed to come from everywhere. Before he could make up his mind on which way to go, there was a faint tremor; not from the ground but from the air around him. A red glow appeared in the distance and the mist ignited, each tiny droplet flaring in sequence until it merged into a wave of orange racing towards them. Searing heat and a deafening roar…and then it was past and the air cooled as it cleared.

He heard Sierra gasp, a little belatedly, as they found themselves in a large cave. The walls were brownish and the ceiling too high to judge, lost in a forest of stalactites. In the middle ran a river of fire, unnatural as anything else in the Underworld, and on the other bank rose a collection of stone pillars that almost looked like a castle.

No, it _was _a castle. Made of black stone with impossibly thin towers and uneven walls, perforated here and there by thin windows and dotted with unrecognizable gargoyles. _Only, she said it would be floating,_ Elazul thought, a bit nonsensically, then tore his gaze away and scanned the nearer bank.

Drakonis stood a little ways away, facing the river, his red robes rippling slightly in a wind that only applied to him. Still in human form, possibly a good sign, probably only deceptively weak looking. Beside him was Larc, crouching over Ren's unmoving form. She lay crumpled by the riverbank, far too close to the dancing flames for Elazul's comfort.

"She's alive," Sierra said quickly, probably trying to warn him off of doing anything irresponsible. "I can sense…the only true life in this cave, save us."

"I know," he replied as they raced across the uneven floor, but didn't bother trying to explain why.

"Larc." Drakonis didn't bother to turn around. "We have visitors. Get rid of them."

The red dragoon looked up from examining Ren, then stood, hefting his axe. He positioned himself roughly midway between the intruders and Drakonis and waited. Elazul didn't. Putting on a burst of speed, he ran forward to meet him.

Larc blocked the charge, but Elazul wasn't really trying to engage him. "Sierra!" he shouted. "Your family problem is in my way, get rid of it!"

"Excuse me?" Larc's eyes widened in furious astonishment.

"You heard him." Sierra shot past, knives flashing, and closed with her brother. "Larc!" she growled. "Stop this nonsense before it's too late!"

"Too late?" Larc dodged her easily. "It's already too late. It's been too late for a long time."

"No, no, you always have a choice!" Sierra struck quickly, aiming at his arms, his hands, trying to make him drop his weapon. "You can stop, turn around, help us defeat him!"

"You don't even know what I'm trying to _do!_" Larc yelled, repelling her with a grand sweep of his axe. "You never bother to find out, do you? You just assume that either I'm so _weak_ I must be controlled, or so _stupid_ I couldn't possible have a plan!"

That sounded remarkably traitorous, but Drakonis didn't appear to be listening, he was focused across the river, on the dark castle. Elazul tried to circle around the warring siblings towards Ren, but Larc wasn't having any of it. He freed one hand from his axe and sliced it through the air. Mana exploded from his fingers, and where it struck, the ground thrust upward, spikes of rock blocking passage.

Elazul spun away from the barrier and charged Larc instead. Apparently they would have to go through the dragoon first. "You have a plan, you say?" he asked, catching Larc's attention, hoping to keep him from charging another spell. "That fixes everything, does it?"

"If you would stop making it _difficult­_-" Larc snapped, grabbing a lighter hand-axe from his belt with his free hand and using it to block Sierra's knives, bringing the heavy axe to bear against the Jumi. Elazul caught it a blow with his sword that put a notch in the shaft, but was forced to fall back as the head descended towards him.

"No plan can be worth this," Sierra almost pleaded, backing away a little. "Allowing that monster to roam free again!"

"It _can,_" Larc insisted, in a lower tone now. "Don't you see? I am bound to him, as you are to Vadise. If he returns to life, I will return also!"

"And so long as you get to breathe again, it doesn't matter who you trample over, does it?" Elazul spat out. "I don't think much of this plan of yours."

Larc's eyes flicked to the side, backwards, towards Ren. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I did not know exactly what Drakonis-"

"But you went ahead with it anyway," Elazul interrupted. "Face it, you have no control whatsoever here. Now get out of our way!"

"No!" Larc, who had taken an involuntary step backward, leapt forward and drove his attackers away again. "I can still fix things. Sierra," he focused on his sister. "Why can't you _trust _me for once?"

Sierra lowered her knives for a second, more emotion than Elazul had ever seen playing over her features. "No," she said, in a choked whisper. "You have never _earned_ it."

They stared at each other, neither moving, until Larc slammed the base of his axe into the ground with enough force to crack the stone. "Then, I will _make you see!_" He charged toward her, but Sierra brought both knives up, and caught the heavy blow between them.

"Like this?" she said, her voice betraying no exertion. "Never. You always think extra force will solve everything, but this time…strength means nothing!" Twisting both knives in a slicing motion, she pressed forward and back at the same time. The blades caught the axe's shaft exactly where Elazul had struck it, and the weakened wood snapped.

The Jumi tried to take advantage of the broken weapon, but if the shorter handle made it unbalanced, Larc didn't seem to care. He swept the still-deadly double edge in wide arcs around himself, driving back his attackers long enough to chant another spell under his breath. Black rocks leapt from the cave floor at his feet and shot forward.

Elazul started back, but before the bombardment could reach him, a faint blue light sprung up in front. The rocks struck it and exploded, each sending a rain of sparks down from its contact point.

"Elazul," Sierra caught his attention despite her quiet tone; he was pretty certain she had never bothered to call him by name since insisting on learning it, way back in Domina. "I have this under control." The shield that protected them both emanated from her hand, not even wavering under the onslaught. "Go to her. Stop Drakonis, stall him, do _something._ Leave Larc to me."

Without even waiting for answer, Sierra let the shield drop and began chanting a different spell. A light mist swelled up from the floor and formed the shapes of wolves, which leapt silently towards her brother.

Elazul didn't need more encouragement; if Sierra wanted this fight to herself, it was only her right. He stepped around one lupine form and ran for the river, half-sliding down the slope of the floor. Drakonis' back was to him, an easy target.

At least until the dragon turned around. "Congratulations," he said, in a bored tone. "You made it to the bottom of the Underworld. Now go away."

"Certainly," Elazul replied, stopping just out of reach. "As soon as you give me Ren back."

"You can have her," Drakonis returned, just as pleasantly. "As soon as I'm done. Or at least," he corrected himself. "You can have whatever's left."

"Bastard," Elazul hissed.

"Not at all." The dragon's inhuman grin was completely out of place on his current form. "Formed from pure mana by the will of the goddess herself, you don't get much more legitimate than that."

Arguing semantics was probably as distracted as the dragon was going to get, Elazul decided, and took the chance, bringing his sword back to strike. He wasn't aiming at anything in particular, but it turned out to be beside the point anyway. As he took the necessary step forward, the air tightened again, filling with mana. It was just like the tunnel outside, but stronger, thicker, harsher, and he stumbled backwards as if from a cloud of acrid smoke. His body felt heavy, his vision dark, and he had to retreat further before the assault faded and he could focus on the area around him again.

Drakonis hadn't moved. "Nice try," he said. "But the amount of mana gathered here is more than enough to override the systems of…lesser beings. I will tell you though, it would not have worked anyway. After all, I am _dead._ You can hardly hope to damage me with a conventional weapon." He regarded Elazul's sword thoughtfully. "Even one as mildly intriguing as that one."

Elazul refused to let himself be distracted. "Doesn't seem to be hindering _them_ any." He waved a hand back towards the battle between Sierra and Larc.

"Well, Larc is special." Drakonis mused without urgency. "I have been…augmenting him. You see, the dead give off a sort of power, as I discovered upon arriving here and finding myself with a lot of time on my hands. A kind of mana, the last dregs of life bleeding off into the unknown. Certainly that feeble energy was not enough to revive myself, but Larc…bit by bit I strengthened him, gave him temporary life. Minute by minute I stole time from the recently dead and fed it to him, so he could walk the overworld once again."

"To search out whatever tools you needed to revive yourself," Elazul encouraged the dragon to talk, while he tried to sense any weakness or irregularity in the mana field. It was centered on Drakonis, but it wasn't static. Instead it seemed to flow, from Ren to the dragon and away. The flow was sporadic and sometimes even reversed itself, but the main trend was towards the castle across the river.

"Well," Drakonis continued. "I assumed it could only be useful to be able to send my dragoon should the need arise. I was…saving it for a rainy day, perhaps."

"And what you needed just happened to fall from the sky, so to speak?"

Drakonis laughed, quietly. "Jumi, you are trying to stall me, don't think I am unaware of it. Let me inform you that I will have precisely as much time as I need, no more, no less. However, if you would like to pass the time talking, so be it."

"You know, I'm not really interested." Elazul glanced at Ren. The mana seemed to be running out on her end, weakening enough that he could pass. If he couldn't get to Drakonis, perhaps he could pull her from his reach instead.

"Are you certain?" Drakonis affected disappointment. "I wouldn't do that, you know," he switched subjects abruptly as Elazul started to edge towards Ren. "You really could damage something if you interrupt the extraction process."

Elazul stopped. "What have you done to her?"

"I?" Drakonis managed to look surprised. "I have done nothing. Well, very little. This should have been a perfectly straightforward project, it's not my fault people started interfering. I had to put more _effort_ into it than strictly necessary, and the conduit ended up broken."

_Broken._ Elazul tore his eyes away from Ren, the rage that had been slowly subdued by the long trek through the Underworld welling back up like a dam about to break. "I'll ask you one more time. _What have you done to her?_"

"You really should calm down," Drakonis stated, unfazed. "Things tend to happen to people who get overly emotional down here."

"Answer me!"

Drakonis sighed. "Let me reiterate, since you obviously failed to take the hint. I didn't break her," he continued nastily. "You did. I had everything quite stable and under control, right up until _someone_ decided to destroy my admittedly ancient red stone right in the middle of it all. With a soul already as fractured as hers, what do you think that did?" He spread one hand, fingers wide. "Pieces everywhere."

"Shut up." Elazul tried to fight back the hatred that welled up. He wanted to charge the man again, but it wouldn't do any good. He felt trapped, frozen despite the heat of the cavern. "You're a damn liar," he struck out with words instead, his only functioning weapon. "Don't try to throw this at me. _You_ did this and you know it and you're _proud_ of it! You started it a thousand years ago. You killed Viridian, invaded her mind, killed the goddess, burned the tree."

"How do you know that?" Drakonis was staring straight at him now, lazy confidence slowly fading, being replaced by actual anger. The mana energy was growing stronger still, gathering around the dragon. The air was tight, rapidly becoming uncomfortable again, but Elazul was certain if he retreated _now_ it would only provoke an attack.

"I'm Jumi," he answered, recalling what the green dragon had said. "It's our job to uncover the truth."

Drakonis made an angry hissing sound, the shadow of flame flickering briefly around him. For a minute, he just glared, one hand clenching at his side, then he laughed sharply, his tense stance relaxing. "Yes, a reminder as to why I hate your whole fanatical, ill formed, ill fated breed. I always meant to spend a moment getting rid of the rest of you, but somehow I never got around to it. Everyone else seemed intent on doing the job for me, it didn't seem worthwhile…ah well. I'll add it to my list as soon as I get out of here."

"No…you won't."

Drakonis turned slowly. Ren pushed herself up with a series of unsteady movements and stood. She held one arm out from her side a bit for balance, faltering, but her eyes were focused, glittering with a fury that made Elazul take a step back, even as he wanted to run forward.

"You just do not know when to stay down, do you?" Drakonis said, after a moment of possibly stunned silence. He raised one hand, pointing at her, and Elazul felt the surrounding mana shift again in her direction.

"Ren!" he called, dropping his sword and kicking it across the cave floor towards her. It clattered to a halt nearby, and she dropped underneath whatever the dragon was throwing to grab the hilt. In the same motion she launched herself upright and forward again, swinging at Drakonis with no great accuracy, but a lot of force.

The sword left a visible trail behind it has it sliced through the gathering mana, striking her opponent at waist height and slashing upward. Whatever damage might have been done was obscured in a cloud of sparks and smoke.

There was a strangled cry from behind, and a scream. Elazul glanced back to see Larc direct a massive blast of magic at his sister, flinging her aside before running towards this new battle. Sierra, only momentarily hampered, sprang back up and landed on his back, and both siblings fell to the ground, sliding to a halt. Sierra nearly fumbled her knives, but managed to keep them in hand to press against her brother's throat.

"What are you going to do," Larc snapped up at her. "Kill me?"

Sierra was saved from answering by a second cry, this time from Ren as she stumbled backwards out of the cloud. "Elazul!" she gasped. "Get away, get back…he's too-"

The dark cloud blew apart with enough force to send anyone still standing to the floor. Drakonis leapt from its center, a roar echoing from wherever he stored his true form when he wasn't using it. Indeed, he didn't seem to be hanging on to his temporary form very well. Crimson light and drops of flame fell from a wound that should have bled and his outline was blurred, dissolving. It was as if Ren had cut not flesh, but merely the encasing for something horrible.

Lunging forward, he closed one hand about Ren's wrist, pulling her to her feet and back towards him. "Oh yes that might have worked. From you, it might have worked, but it's too late. Far, far too late. Larc," he glanced at his dragoon instead, paying very little heed to his captive. "The time has come for our rebirth."

"Yes!" Larc gave a heave and flung his briefly distracted sister aside, racing to stand next to his master.

"No!" Ren tried to swing at Drakonis with her free hand, still holding Elazul's sword, but he snatched it away without even looking.

"What did I just say?" he murmured, and threw the weapon back at its owner with such force it struck sparks from the floor. "Do you know, Jumi," the dragon continued, following the path of the blade with his eyes as Elazul snatched it up. "You were mostly right. An impressive amount of understanding from a representative of a people I thought had long ago abandoned all touch with reality. However, you were wrong on one count…stop struggling, you stupid girl!" he hissed, followed by a string of syllables in some unknown language. Ren cried out and went limp.

"Let go of her!" Elazul tried again to close the gap between himself and the dragon, but Drakonis swung towards him and snarled.

"_Be SILENT!"_ A ripple in the air solidified into a pillar of screaming fire, twisting through the air like a whirlwind. Elazul threw himself to one side and down, and it flew overhead, shattering a nearby stalactite. "You had your chance to speak and wasted it. Now you will _listen_."

_Too late, too late._ Voices whirled about in his head as Elazul tried to get up again. Out of the corner of one eye he thought he saw shapes flickering around the cave, here and there. Blue, red, brown, white…the gathered spirits, freed from wherever Ren kept them when they weren't making her life more difficult. He had never been able to see them before, except in those strange dreams. Perhaps the density of mana was allowing them to manifest.

That mana was growing stronger every second, too. From across the river, Elazul saw a dark shape detach itself from the castle and soar towards them, a flurry of color and sound in its wake. The black form spread its wings around a single, glowing, red eye, and hovered over Drakonis' head.

It did not speak, but the flock of Shadoles coming from behind made it unnecessary. "We arrrre donnnne!" they squealed. "Isssssn't it beaaauuuuutiful?"

"Yes, well done." Drakonis scattered flecks of light from rapidly growing horns and he turned to examine the distant building. "Now begone!"

The Shadoles, unconcerned, swirled playfully around him for a moment longer, then scattered in a widening circle, taking refuge behind every pillar and stone to watch the spectacle unfolding. Elazul could hear their whispers carrying from wall to wall. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the voices piling on top of each other, but it didn't help.

"As I was saying," Drakonis' voice cut through the others. "You were wrong on one count. It is not possible to kill a goddess, not entirely. There is always a piece remaining, a fragment, oh…let us call it a _seed_, since it is so very appropriate." He pulled Ren closer to him, clutched in one arm, talons growing longer by the second.

"When things die, there is always that last grasp at life. Look around you. This, the Underworld, would not exist if it weren't for that basic want, that need of souls to cling to the world. They wander here, seeking desperately for some purpose, not wanting to go forward, unable to go back. There is a great power in that, the desire of beings to _live._" The dragon's voice was growing deeper, slowly taking on that distant quality Elazul had heard from Viridian and Vadise. It had a strange cadence, though, the words slightly offbeat, the emphasis on the wrong syllables.

"Can you imagine, then, when a goddess dies, how much greater is her need? She wishes to live, to stay with her children, to continue to fulfill her purpose! But she cannot do it alone. The pieces of her soul were long scattered across the world, the spirits, sent out to spread mana to the far corners of Fa'Diel. Without the tree to anchor them, they spun out of control and became lost. She could not recall them, not as a disembodied soul, she needed a vessel, a body. So when a suitable container just happened to present itself…" Drakonis looked sidelong at Ren's unconscious form.

"You provided it." Elazul felt slightly dizzy, whether from the sulphur fumes, the voices, or the incoming information, he wasn't sure.

"That was not my intention, I assure you. Still, it worked out rather well, didn't it? Yes, a broken, fractured soul in dying body, but with a will to live to match the goddess herself! Willing to become the necessary vessel, the shell to protect the seed within.

"You see, a seed needs fertile ground. A wounded goddess would need to find some way to hide it, protect it until such a place could be found. So she took it, the vessel with the last remaining piece of her soul and buried it where it could not be found. The safest place she could think of, with her fortress burning around her; time itself."

"That is impossible!" Sierra broke in. "Not even a goddess could reach a thousand years into the future!"

Drakonis sneered, smoke beginning to trickle from his jaws. "A goddess, no, but a _dying_ goddess, yes. Those that stand on the brink of death are capable of anything. Anything at all."

"You _planned_ this? You knew this would happen? That was why you burned the tree?" Elazul couldn't get his mind around that idea, it just didn't work.

"No." Drakonis laughed in a gravelly way. "No. How could I? I am no god, to see so far into the future. This has simply been…the most astounding coincidence I have ever partaken of. Ahh, she does have such a skill…for being in the wrong place, at exactly the right time! A beautiful, wonderful falling out of events, the hand of fate tipped in my favor for once in my slighted, overlong existence."

"Oh yes, you have been nothing but persecuted," Sierra spat out, slowly getting to her feet. Drakonis ignored her, but Larc shifted to stand in front of her, and she drew back. The mana that had ringed the dragon now encircled his dragoon as well, and Larc fairly glowed with power.

"I knew the moment it reappeared on this world," Drakonis continued, every word echoing now. "The very thing, the only thing that could end this hell I have lived in for the past century or so. I felt it, because I had once touched that power, however briefly. I recognized its return and then, in that instant, I laid my plans.

"You know what I am speaking of. You have seen it's power in action already, if you have truly spoken to Viridian. That which, by the power of the goddess, turns the wheel of souls. The quintessential tool of rebirth. Come now, have I dropped enough hints?"

Sierra looked puzzled for a moment, then her eyes widened. "Impossible!" she exclaimed again.

"No…it isn't." Elazul could see it now, little bits and pieces colliding together to form a whole. Vadise said, _ she must have changed in fundamentals._ Vadise said, _a link to the goddess herself, a piece of her soul solidified and given as a gift._ Vadise had said, _I may have…a slight suspicion, but it will require more thought than I have time to give it._

_Damn _that dragon and all her kind, she _knew._ She had figured it out and decided he didn't deserve to know, brushed it off like she was just wondering about the weather next week. Elazul struggled to his feet, but the force emanating from the transforming dragon made it all he could do just to stay there.

"See?" Drakonis laughed again. "The Jumi understands, as well he should. Here lies the weapon that can cut through this false cycle, this cesspit of souls we call the Underworld!" Raising one blackened claw above Ren's breast, he drew it backwards in a swift, decisive motion.

A stream of light followed his hand, golden sparks of all sizes swirling and dancing around each other as he pulled them free. Ren's body convulsed, her eyes opening. She reached out one hand to the light…but Drakonis flung her away, towards Elazul.

The Jumi lunged forward to catch her, and made it, just barely, the impact sending them both back to the floor. "Elazul…" Ren whispered, her hands tightening on his arm, his shirt, but with little strength. "El…I…"

Elazul's gaze was focused beyond her. The lights that spun in the air before Drakonis were pulling together now, creating an outline easily familiar to anyone who'd ever gripped one in battle.

A sword. No, _the_ sword.

The Sword of Mana.


	29. Sword of Mana

_Bet you all thought I was dead. No such luck! ;) Just been off and on busy. Trips around the country, moving across town, a new puppy, various bouts with stress and depression, you all know how it goes. Finally managed to kick the writer's block and get this chapter done. Only nearly a year late, right?_

_…._

_Yeah, anyway. Contrary to whatever I said last chapter, this isn't the second half of that chapter. It's the second half of that chapter, plus pretty much all of what would have been the chapter after that, minus some superfluous garbage. So yeah…hope you like it!_

_As a side note, there's a sort of illustration for this chapter at my DeviantArt account, linked from my profile, entitled 'Respite'. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing I guess! ;)  
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29 – Sword of Mana

* * *

For a minute, the gleaming image was solid and shining, its brilliant glow drowning out even the bright curves of the fire-river. A golden hilt with silver blade, flaring slightly at the tip into a diamond shape that flashed as it rotated slowly. Then the blade darkened, the light drawing inward as Drakonis' hand closed about the hilt. Red flames flickered along his spine and burst outward as wings broke free, and then the crimson light consumed him, growing so bright the rest of the transformation was lost to view.

Elazul drew Ren backwards as best he could, though she seemed to have gained strength from somewhere and struggled against him. "No, stop him!" she cried. "Don't let him use it…don't let him…again…"

A low growl slowly grew into an ear-shattering roar of triumph, reverberating from surrounding surfaces with enough force to bring whole sections down from above. Ren let out a thin wail that might have been pain or despair and stopped trying to escape, and Elazul threw them both to one side as a piece of stone the size of a horse crashed down inches away.

The mana in the air had risen to a maddening swirl, now joined with the vibration of the floor and constant noise in some kind of bizarre multi-sensory storm. Elazul stared up towards the ceiling, but it was lost from view in clouds of smoke and dust. _This whole place is going to come down._

"Sierra!" Elazul yelled, before he had even pinpointed where she was. A moment later she was at his side, her headlong run turned half into a fall as another tremor rocked the floor. "We have to leave," he insisted. "Now."

The dragoon shook her head. "There's no way," she said, barely audible over the cacophony. "This power…the whole Underworld is attuned to Drakonis!" Sierra gasped as the air began to tighten again. "With that much mana at his call, it follows his will, even subconsciously! He will not let us leave."

Before Elazul could refute this ultimatum, there was a loud explosion, and a wave of burning ash swept across them. As suddenly as it had began, the trembling of the walls died away. When the last of the haze cleared, a true dragon stood, backlit by the furious river. Drakonis was larger than Viridian, his wings stretched out on either side, claw-tipped, adding a dimension the green dragon couldn't match. His tail lashed once, and he tossed his head in time, glossy black horns reflecting the firelight.

"_How wonderful it is to be _real _again!"_ he exulted. The red dragon hovered, rising from the floor. His wings beat far too slowly to keep him in the air, but generated plenty of wind; an acrid, stinging wind that stirred the long-still dust of the Underworld. His neck snaked downwards, eyes focusing on Ren. Elazul pulled her closer, raising his sword between her and that massive head. Teeth closed about the steel and twisted, snatching it from his hand and tossing it aside.

Blood dripping briefly to the cave floor, before Drakonis' tongue slid along the side of his jaw. _"Real again,"_ he murmured. _"Only the living bleed." _Sierra started forward, but he flicked a claw at her and she was tossed backwards, out of sight.

"_Kesta ren-shira,"_ the dragon purred, not even glancing after the dragoon. _"You are a fool, always were. You have no idea how tempted I am to leave you alive, just to see if the same trick will work_ three_ times."_

Ren didn't move, Elazul wondered if she had the strength left, but her eyes met the dragon's black ones, unwavering. "Traitor," she whispered. "I will destroy you."

Elazul thought he would have laughed at that, but Drakonis' gaze flickered, momentarily angry. _"I am no traitor!"_ he snarled, flames dripping from his jaws. _"It is you, Viridian, Vadise and the others, this whole stupid world that does not understand! Enough!"_ he screamed, though Ren didn't seem inclined to say anything else. _"I do not need to explain myself to you anymore!" _The massive head pulled away, as the stray flames gathered together into its opening maw.

"Wait!"

Drakonis swallowed the fire abruptly as Larc slid between him and his intended targets. _"What is it now?"_ he snapped.

"Your promise," the red dragoon said in a low voice. "Now is the time."

Drakonis peered down at him. _"Oh, are you still harping on that? I thought you would have seen reason by now."_

"Your promise," Larc repeated, setting his feet more firmly. Drakonis' eyes narrowed.

"_Think of what you are giving up! Surely you, who have shared my soul, can understand-"_

"Now, Drakonis!" Larc interrupted, swiping his axe through the air between them. "I want my share of the power, and only one of us leaves here today!"

Drakonis settled to the floor slowly. _"Damn you Larc,"_ he hissed._ "You are a fool as well. Fine then!"_ The walls rattled at his shout. _"You shall have your power, and your duel! But make sure you…take…_all_ of it!" _The dragon reared back, balancing on his hind legs, towering over Larc, who suddenly looked very alone. The dragon opened his claws, and the golden sword hovered between them.

Mana began to gather, Elazul could feel it pulling away from the air around him, leaving it thin and near unbreatheable. "No…" another voice came from the side; Sierra, her eyes wide. She didn't have time for more than that. Drakonis raised a hand in front of him, pointed at Larc. Mana sprang from each talon, five points meeting to form a line, which shot towards the red canine.

The spell struck Larc full in the chest, knocking him flat and sending him sliding no small distance across the floor. He started to get up and then slumped again. A thin whine was heard across the cave, growing to a howl of agony.

"Larc!" Sierra screamed, but her brother paid her no attention. His shape was changing, expanding and twisting as it did so, into forms no body should have to experience. Pure, unrefined mana was streaking into him, and darkening as it went. No doubt about it, Drakonis was creating a monster.

Elazul struggled to his feet again, dragging Ren up with him. She didn't even glance at the macabre vision in front of them, she was still staring at Drakonis. "Forget him!" he yelled at her. Pulling her around by one arm, he felt her stumble after him, stopping every few feet to look back. _As long as she's upright and walking,_ he told himself grimly.

Following the line of the wall with his eyes, Elazul could see the gate they'd entered by. It seemed to be wavering, flickering in and out, probably indicating they didn't have much time. He slowed and knelt quickly by a white form on the floor.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked as Sierra groaned and sat up. She looked up at Ren, who seemed to have finally given up on Drakonis. "Don't even ask," Elazul cut her off. "We've got to move!"

"No," she said, standing. "Larc-"

"-is going to be a really big problem in about three seconds, and our exit is _disappearing,_ Sierra!"

The dragoon glared at him. "If you had a brother, would you _leave him behind?_"

"No, but-"

"You got what _you_ came for, just go!" she snapped, and sprang up and away, back towards the whirling mana-trap that had been Larc.

Had been, was the only appropriate term. The creature that was swiftly appearing from the red haze was twenty times the size of the red canine, and only partially humanoid. It had four legs, clawed or hoofed or both, some horrible mix of five or six different creatures. Throwing its head back, it screamed, a sound that started off like Larc's voice and deepened into a demonic cry with far more volume and equal malice.

Drakonis hovered above and behind it, apparently surveying his work. _"Very much an improvement, I think."_ He glanced up. _"Oh Sierra, are you still here? Of course you are,_" he answered himself, nodding. _"Larc seems to have…forgotten…about our little promise. Why don't you take care of him?"_ The dragon sniggered and spun in the air, heading across the river again. _"That's what big sisters are for, yes?"_

The demon-Larc tilted its head downwards, trying to focus on the small white figure in front of it. Sierra took a step back, gripping her knives, but her stance was hesitant.

"Damn it all to…somewhere else…" Elazul shot a lingering glance at the fading gateway and looked at Ren. She stared back at him unhelpfully, but he knew perfectly well what she would say if she was in any position to say anything. "Yeah. Where's my sword?" He spotted a flash of silver not far away.

Ren followed his gaze to the sword. Elazul should have seen it coming, reacted a half-second too late as she broke his grip and ran for it. Snatching up the blade, she sprinted back towards the fire-river, now dull and fading.

"_Ren, don't!_" he yelled, running after. Drakonis was a fading red shape in the heat waves above the river, there was no way she could catch him, even if it would do any good, which was doubtful. She wasn't listening though, even if she could hear him at all, which he also doubted.

Her path ran too close to the transformed Larc before he could reach her. The centaur-demon snorted, distracted from the unmoving Sierra by a more interesting target. It screamed again, raising up on its hind legs and bringing the front hooves down with a crash. Elazul felt a cry rise in his throat, but as the dust cleared a bit, he could see the monster had missed.

Ren sat a few feet away from it, staring up at it and blinking as if jolted from some daze. The demon peered down at her and then raised its hands. A huge weapon, something like an axe, something like a spear, appeared between them. "Dammit Ren, _move!_" Elazul's mind flashed back to a similarly horrible situation in Geo, but this time he was too far away, much too far…

The black lance streaked through the air towards her, trailing sparks. Just before it struck, time seemed to slow. Brilliant sparks of color flared from the corners of the room, behind pillars, the shadows of the craggy ceiling. One shot right past Elazul, a flash of gold, before the rainbow swirled around Ren, merging into a solid disc in front of her.

Time caught up with itself, heralded by a _bang_ as the axe struck the shield. Multicolored lights splashed away, but returned just as quickly, and the heavy weapon halted. The demon swung back and struck again, harder, but making no better progress than before.

_The spirits! _ Elazul thought as he closed the distance between them, and snatched the sword from Ren's unresisting hand. _Where did they get such strength?_ _Of course_, he realized, a moment later. _The mana still drifting through the cave in Drakonis' wake, they must be able to make use of it_. Ren was staring blankly at the protective screen, when the third clash of the axe hitting it seemed to jolt her awake. She blinked and looked at him. "What's-" she started.

"Don't, don't ask questions. If you can stand, get_ up!_" As the monster charged in for another blow, Elazul dodged around the shield and struck at its arm, just before the axe it. Too his surprise, it offered little resistance, passing straight through the thing's wrist and sending it stumbling to the side, unbalanced. Red dust streamed from the wound, and the demon roared, focusing on its attacker. Out of the corner of one eye, he could see Ren getting to her feet, the spirits now nothing more than faint discolorations in the air around her. He continued to circle to the side, the demon's attention locked on him now.

"What are you _doing?_" Sierra hissed as he drew level with her.

"I'd granted it was your fight," he snapped back. "But if you're not going to actually _fight_ it, someone has to!"

The dragoon looked at him, but before she could respond, the monster charged, forcing them to the sides. Elazul ran around it, back towards Ren, slashing at its hind leg as he passed. It reared and spun, hooves striking small flames from the stones as they landed in quick succession, like a horse stomping on a snake.

"Elazul…the castle!" Ren sounded breathless, and he looked at her in alarm, then further, across the river. The black castle was shaking now, the tremors radiating across the cave floor towards them, visible but not yet felt over the clash with the seconds, the whole structure broke free from the ground, shedding boulders like droplets off a fish. A final quake nearly knocked even the monster from its feet, and then the castle was airborne, rising slowly towards the ceiling and gathering speed as it went.

Elazul watched it hopelessly for a minute, then filed it under 'things he couldn't do a damn thing about' and spun back to the closer fight. The monster had stumbled as the ground shook, but it lunged towards them anyway, driving the polearm forward one-handed.

Pulling Ren away again, like she was turning into some sort of arm extension, Elazul side stepped the charge. Before he could launch a counterattack though, a white figure leapt onto the red demon's back from behind. Sierra screamed wordlessly, driving her daggers again and again into the apparition, its throat, back, sides. There was no blood, only dust, gathering in clouds around it until the whole thing disintegrated, dropping the white canine to the floor.

The particles of the centaur-beast glittered red, gathering into a low-lying cloud that drifted, gathering speed until it shot across the river, towards the castle. Sierra simply stood in the middle of it all, head tilted as if listening, weapons forgotten at her sides.

"Sierra…?" Elazul started forward, but there was a tremendous _crack_ overhead, and a huge chuck of stone crashed into the ground between them. He looked to one side in time to see the castle connect with the ceiling, sending cracks racing along its length. There was a flash of white light, perhaps daylight, perhaps whatever inter-dimensional aura kept the Underworld separate from everywhere else.

Then it was gone, and dark, and the noise from the falling stone shattered all other senses.

* * *

He thought he woke, once. How he knew it was once, or from what perspective he was looking at 'once' was unclear. There was darkness all around, but it was still, quiet darkness now. Except for a soft golden light, that he was sure hadn't even been there until he noticed it.

_Jumi, can you help us?_ The light resolved into a feminine form, or at least part of one. Peering out from a circle of gold, holding something in her hands. An urn perhaps, or a harp, it was hard to tell.

"With what?" He felt sluggish, like this was another dream, some sort of in-between space where things didn't really happen, but tried to anyway. He was getting extremely sick of dreams.

The glow brightened a bit, and he could see Ren, lying on the floor nearby. He tried to reach for her, but he couldn't move.

_You don't need to move,_ Aura said. _This isn't real. Not really. Not really real…_she drifted off and seemed to catch herself. _Except it is real. I can't keep it real for long though…can you help?_

"What is wrong with her?" Elazul pried the words out one at a time.

_She is…I can't find a good word…_

_Broken. _A second spirit voice echoed in the silence. It had earthy undertones.

_I don't like that word. _Aura seemed to shudder. _Jumi…? Can you…_

"How?" Elazul interrupted before she could repeat herself again.

_I don't know. _The spirit bobbed aimlessly. _Isn't that what you're…isn't it what you were made for? _She frowned. _Changed for? I remember, I seem to remember…I think I remember…_ In a sudden burst of speed, she flowed towards him, so fast she left a string of images behind. _The movement of mana!_ She reached out, a tendril of light brushing against his core.

"No! What are you-" He gasped as she floated away again, as if released from some immense pressure.

_Weak. You're weak._ A white light now hovered near the gold. _The path is there already. She forged it. Can't you use it?_

"I don't know what you-" No, he did know. Vadise had worked it out. He fell silent, then slowly reached towards Ren. This time he could move, even if it felt strange, and laid a hand against her face.

It was like standing on the edge of an endless void. A black pit from nothing, into nothing, filled with nothing. He could feel it pulling at him, thirsty, desperate. Far too deep for one person, for that tiny, broken piece of mana he carried to fill. It pulled at him, crying without noise, clawing without hands. "No!" He tried to pull away. With a final wrench he broke free, falling backwards. "I…can't."

Wisp and Aura regarded him silently as he caught his breath, one hand over his core. "What good would it do?" he tried to explain. "There is far too much…need."

_It would help us, _a red light joined the other two. Salamander. _We can only give a little, ourselves._

"I thought it was the other way around! You were feeding off her!"

_We are, but it goes both ways. She gets stronger, little by little, and we return that strength. Nothing is so straight forward as a _line._ It's a web, a tangled, tangled web…_ Wisp sighed. _We have drawn energy from her over time. Now we will give it back. Borrowed mana, borrowed time. We cannot hold on forever. You could…_

_Stop it, Wisp! _The fishlike form of Undine darted in from the side. _You know it wouldn't work._

_I am out of ideas. _The light spirit looked dejected, then faded from view.

Undine turned back. _We can support her, for a little while,_ she told Elazul. _But…it cannot last._ She too, looked sad. The rest of the hovering spirits winked out of existence, one by one, returning, he could only suppose, to Ren.

"I wish I could," Elazul told the emptiness. "It's not that I don't _want_ to help…"

_We know. At least, I know. _The golden light reappeared. She seemed a little more animated now. Elazul wasn't sure whether to be comforted or worried by this. _Don't listen to Wisp. Spirits only appear according to the person who summons us. We are formed from within yourself. Wisp only thinks you're useless because _you_ think you're useless._

"Then what part of me are you?"

_I believe in you. _

"Why?" The single word was hard to breathe out. The dream-space was fading, reality pressing in.

Aura only smiled and disappeared.

* * *

He wasn't certain if he actually passed out, had been dreaming, or if the combination of mana storm and falling rock was simply too much to process, with strange side-effects. Either way, by the time Elazul could think clearly again, everything was…okay, it was still quiet and dark. Completely dark, and…empty?

A moment of panic was relieved by the realization that he could feel Ren at his side, hear her breathing. He let that thought settle into his mind for a minute, mildly comforting, before allowing himself to consider the rest of the situation.

_It can't have been that long, or Shadoles and zombies would be swarming the place…wouldn't they?_ Elazul had never been afraid of the dark, but suddenly he really, really, wanted a light.

Fumbling about the nearby floor, his fingers brushed something metal. Grabbing at it, he caught up what turned out to be the blade of his sword. Oh, that would have been good, wouldn't it, if he still had _normal_ fingers. Shifting his grip to the other end he tried to focus on it. _Light. Come on._

Nothing happened. Elazul hissed between his teeth. _ I'm starting to hate swords. Too many damned weapons with their own agendas around lately. Just give me some _light_, doesn't need to be fancy, just…anything!_ There was a slight flicker, then a dim glow spread along the blade's edge, giving just enough light to make everything else seem darker.

Less than helpful. _I'm going to melt this thing down at the next blacksmith I come to, I swear it,_ he thought. Of course, Pearl would be sad. She'd found the stupid sword for him, practically by falling through a hole on top of it.

As his eyes adjusted, Elazul looked around. He half expected to see legions of dead ready to strike, but he was greeted only by the now-familiar reddish-black stone. They were sitting in what seemed to be about twenty feet or so of passable space. Looking up, he saw the remains of one of the cavern-supporting pillars, broken off overhead. It could just as easily have crushed them, coming down, but it had met a slab from the ceiling halfway and halted, shielding them from the remaining debris.

_Shielding Ren, more like it,_ Elazul thought, running his fingers along the wall. _I can't imagine rock bothering to stop for me._ Vampires and skeletons weren't all that was missing, either. There should have been rubble, dust, ash perhaps, but there was nothing. The rock had joined together at the seams, floor to wall to ceiling, as if it had briefly turned to clay and blended at the edges. A perfectly sealed chamber.

_And so the Underworld recovers. _Elazul let his hand drop from the wall. Heading back to his original spot, he crouched next to Ren, checking her over. She didn't seem to be injured, at least not more than fighting two dragons and assorted minions would allow for, which was surprisingly little. What wounds there were had already been rather inexpertly cared for; Elazul suspected Larc, since he couldn't see Drakonis bothering.

The real problem, he was certain, was not likely to be physical. He reached out and shook her gently. "Ren?" For a second her eyelids flickered, then settled. "Wake up, we need to…" He stopped. _Need to what? We're trapped in a hole at bottom of the Underworld and there's no way out._ Maybe it was better to just let her sleep. Elazul let go and slumped against the wall next to her. He stared at the rock for a while longer, then put his head in his hands and waited. There didn't seem to be anything else to do.

After a moment, he realized that his sword, fallen a little to the side, had gone dark, but he could still see. Glancing up, he saw the walls had resumed their undirectional glow. "Someone's turned the invisible lamps back on." Elazul looked at Ren, whether she was awake or not. "Is that a good sign or a bad one?"

A sharp intake of breath, as if in answer, made him realize she was waking up, and he reached out automatically, to let her know someone was there. Her eyes fluttered, one hand twitching almost spasmodically, then falling still again. Finally she groaned, stirring into full awareness. She looked up at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, then her eyes widened. "El…?" It came out half choked, and one hand flew to her throat. "Water," she coughed.

Elazul fumbled at his belt for the canteen. It felt about half full as he handed it over, and definitely empty when she finally passed it back. "Any more?" she asked.

"No, but," he tried not to look worried as he stowed the container. "I haven't felt the need for it here…"

"I'm not thirsty," she explained, looking around. "Just…my throat hurts, like I've been breathing ash and sulphur for _ages._" Elazul couldn't think of anything to say to that. Nothing tactful anyway. "Where are we?"

"Er…same place as before."

"Before?" For a minute her face remained the usual blank of Ren trying to remember something, then realization dawned visibly. "Which before?" she asked hesitantly, then scrambled to her feet, eyes widening. "Before, or _before_ before? My head is full of befores! I…I remember!" She spun around suddenly and nearly hit the wall. Stumbling backwards she glared at it like it had attacked her.

"Ren, take it easy-" Elazul started towards her, but she flinched back, almost like an animal. She put her hands to her face, pressing not so much at her eyes, but her forehead, as if trying to burrow through. "How much do you remember?" He didn't really want to, but it had to be asked.

"_Everything_," she hissed. "That is…sort of. I keep trying to get rid of it, but then I want it back. It's all mixed up. Drakonis did that, it's like he reached in and stirred all the paints together and now it's some strange color…it makes me sick."

She wasn't making a lot of sense, but Elazul got the gist of it. "You don't _have_ to remember." Ren glared at him through her fingers. "Not right now, that is," he amended quickly.

"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked.

Elazul looked around. "Is that a trick question?"

"No."

He blinked, staring at her. "I came after you."

Ren continued to glare, her eyes faintly reflecting the dim light. "_Why?_" she hissed, dropping her hands to form fists at her sides. "After everything…I tried to kill you!" she yelled.

Elazul didn't like the look on her face, one step removed from complete insanity. "Not very hard," he tried. "Or you probably would have succeeded." _Wrong phrase, so wrong,_ he groaned at himself as her eyes widened. "Wait, I didn't mean that…"

"No." Ren's gaze had unfocused again, staring somewhere past him. "But he wanted…he was in my head, he knew…wanted to take advantage of…wanted me to." She sagged to the floor again, shaking her head. Silence pressed inwards, the smallness of the space even more suffocating in the brighter light, if that was possible.

"Are you all right?" Goddess, that was a stupid thing to ask, but he couldn't for the life of him think of anything else. "I mean, are you hurt?" She looked up, more haunted than pained.

"I…" she paused. "I feel like I'm missing something. It's right on the edge, going in and out. Can't quite reach it."

_Oh. Hmm._ _How to explain that?_ He decided to avoid it."It's just this place, it makes you feel hollow. It's the quiet, mostly, I think."

"Quiet?" Ren shook her head. "It's not quiet at all. It's full of voices."

Elazul swore under his breath. _Shadoles._ "Spirits?" he asked, hopefully.

"No, I suspect I killed them."

"You can't kill spirits," he insisted with some conviction.

"Why not?" Ren asked in a slightly uneven tone. "I seem to have killed everything else."

"No, it wasn't-"

"_I killed the mana tree, Elazul!_"

Her sudden scream echoed off the walls, close as they were, and Elazul flinched. He stopped, listening, but no answering cry could be heard. "You didn't," he repeated. _Calm. Stay calm._ "Drakonis did."

"I let him in! I practically handed him the _torch._ I let him through, showed him the way and he…and I…" she stared at one hand as if expecting to find blood on it, then let it fall. "I haven't been alive since then, have I?" Her eyes flashed, lit from within. "_Have_ I?"

He started to respond, say something, anything, but his voice was quickly lost in a sudden rush of color and sound. "Ssssissster!" The Shadoles filled the room like a whirlwind, spinning happily in an ever-tightening circle. "Ssssilly dragon is gonne, but we liiiiiike you! Ssssstay with usss!"

Elazul snatched his sword up again. "Get the hell away from her!" he yelled, swinging at the nearest flash of color. The Shadole flitted backwards, but others closed in just as fast.

"It's easssy!" They cooed. "No paaain, no sorrrow! No f-fear, no rrregret! Nothing but fffunnn and mussic!"

"There's no music, you demented relics," Elazul pushed Ren behind him, back towards the wall, though he wasn't sure what cover that would provide from the insubstantial.

"Yes there is," he heard her whisper behind him. "Can't you hear it?"

"No," he insisted. "Don't let them get to you!" The Shadoles laughed in unison. One of them dove close, but Elazul raised his sword and it looped away.

"There is," Ren insisted. "It sounds like thousands upon thousands of souls. Trapped, lost, crying, screaming, until it all blends together and it's nothing but music," and she giggled.

It was the most horrible sound Elazul had heard in recent days, and that was saying something. The swirling Shadoles cackled in reply. "Yesss! Sssee? She understaaaands, shiny person! Why not youuuu?"

"No!" Elazul swung again, and this time connected. Like cutting through wet paper, one of the Shadoles screamed and dissolved. The others backed off some. "Get out of here! Especially _you!_" He stabbed his sword at a particular shape, which shrieked as it scudded backwards.

"How do you keep picking me out!" it whined.

"Instinct!" Elazul snapped, and lunged again, a thrust that would have pinned the thing to the wall if it hadn't exploded in a burst of feathery light on contact.

"You don't play niiiice, shiny!" The others chorused. "Youuu need to relaaaax." The last syllable faded off into silence, the suddenness of it almost indeed like a chord as it blanketed the area in calm.

"Relax," the Shadole-voices came again, but easy now. "How long do you really want to do this? Life is hard. Things will only get worse." There was a dull thud as Ren hit the ground behind him. Elazul tried to turn, but movement was difficult and slow. His ears were ringing in the silence, and he thought he could, indeed, hear a faint rhythm to it…

_Be strong._

There was a spark of light nearby, drawing his eyes. It came from the small, white pieces of wood, still stubbornly tangled in Ren's hair; a faint, expanding halo of gold. It seemed to be struggling, pressing back as if against some weight. _The last pieces of the mana tree,_ Elazul remembered._ The spirits…I wasn't dreaming! They're trying to help…no!_

What little strength the spirits had left, needed to go to Ren. He couldn't let them waste it on some insane remnants of long-lost souls. "Don't," he tried to raise his voice again, against the drone of the Shadoles. "I don't…need your help!"

He threw all his weight behind his sword, and swung half-blind. Two more crackling noises heralded the banishment of more Shadoles, and the song faltered.

"…nooo," a deep hissing came from multiple sources. "We want…want…let us…" The remaining creatures tried to restart the rhythm, but it was too late. As another, then three more of the striped ghosts disappeared, the rest cut their losses and fled into the wall.

Elazul straightened, breathing heavily. He felt dizzy, as if there weren't enough air. The ceiling seemed lower, the walls closer than before, but at least the room was empty. He sheathed the sword reluctantly, scanning the rock for any sign of re-entry.

Ren was sitting against the wall with her arms around her knees. "Why did you send them away?"

"I hate them," Elazul hissed, trying to get a hold of himself. "They're like evil versions of sproutlings, except instead of just being mindless, they eat your mind."

"Not much left to eat here," Ren murmured, focusing on the floor three feet away. "Not sure if it's even my mind anyway. Could be…could be someone else…someone who likes, oh I don't know. Killing dragons. Torturing bird-people. Burning things…"

"That wasn't you," Elazul insisted, resorting back to the calmness he definitely didn't feel.

"Oh, it was me," Ren continued with a false lightness. "I _remember_ it. I remember…_enjoying_ it. Who knew?"

"It was Drakonis! He made you do those things, it wasn't-"

"Of _course _it was Drakonis!" Ren yelled back, getting up and advancing on him. "You think I'm _stupid?_ But that doesn't make it any less my fault!" Elazul backed away, not that there was very far to go. "It's _all_ my fault, all of it, and now….now I can remember it all, and you think I care if Shadoles want to take it _away?_"

"Well, I care." Elazul stared straight back at her, stopping before he could actually hit the wall. "And since I'm here and the Shadoles are _not_, I get the vote." He pressed on as she merely stared at him. "He _used_ you. He killed Viridian and used his death to get into your head. If you were thinking clearly, you'd _know_ this. The only person who wants you to think it's your fault is Drakonis himself!" Stepping forward, he took her hand. "Please, just…don't think about it right now. It will help if we can get out of here, I'm sure of it."

Ren looked at his hand over hers, like she'd never seen it before. "Why? I think…I think I belong here. I'm pretty sure I…that Drakonis…"

"You're alive. Listen to me." Elazul managed to catch her gaze and hold it. "I've seen what the dead look like down here, and you're not it."

"But…" Her forehead creased with effort. "No, it's trying to slip away again, but I need to remember…Drakonis…the sword…I can still feel…" She lifted one hand, looked at it for a while, then placed it over her middle, about where Drakonis had torn the thing free. Elazul tried not to think about it, but he suspected the image was etched permanently in his mind.

"Apparently the Goddess didn't agree with Drakonis," he broke in, trying to curtail her train of thought. "And I suspect she tends to get the last word a lot."

"Yes, yes she does. The last word and the first." She fell silent.

"Ren?" Elazul wondered if another lapse in memory would make things better or worse.

"Ren? Ren?" Suddenly she started laughing, a quiet, dull sound that nevertheless shook her entire body.

"I really would like to know what you find so funny," Elazul asked after a moment of this.

"Me," Ren managed, still giggling. From the sides, faint echoing laughs could be heard, but she didn't appear to notice.

"Stop it," Elazul nearly snapped. "You're inviting them back."

"Do you know what 'ren' means, in the language of the spirits?" She continued, as if he hadn't spoken. "It means _sword_. Don't you get it, Elazul? The first thing I remembered. The _only_ thing I remembered. I was leaving myself a message." The mirth faded at last and she sighed, staring at the air. "I had it with me the whole time."

Elazul tried to think of something to respond with, but the only thing that came to mind was, _yeah, that fits._ He decided not to say it. "Okay, but-"

"You don't seem to get it, do you?" Ren shook his hand away. "I screwed it up _from the beginning._" Each word she emphasized came out strained and hoarse, and Elazul found himself fearing for her health as well as her sanity. "I left myself a _keyword_ and couldn't even comprehend _that._ She sent me…forward. For what purpose I don't know, but I certainly haven't done it. The sword, the sword…it's for _fixing_ things, and I…"

Ren stopped, caught her breath and continued before Elazul could even think about interrupting. "I've broken everything, _everything_. I wanted so much to help, to fix things. That's what she wanted…she said…I don't remember what she said. But it's what the spirits said, what Nunuzac said, what even the damn ghosts in the damn _junkyard_ said, but I…" She pulled her arms into her chest as if trying to sink into herself and disappear. "I just made it worse. I couldn't…fix…_anything_." With startling speed, she turned and slammed a fist into the wall with enough force to make Elazul wince.

The echoes of laughter grew louder, spreading out again, coming from all sides. For a moment Ren stared at the rock, eyes blazing with the same anger as in the fire-cavern, but this time directed at herself. "Damn it," she hissed, then pulled her hand back. "Owww…I bet Shadoles don't feel _pain._"

"Yeah, they do," Elazul said, supposedly to Ren, but the growing whispers from the shadows retreated into abrupt silence. "Ren…listen…."

"Listen? First you're telling me not to listen to things, now you want me to listen?" She looked at him with eyes grey and dull in the muted light, before sinking to the floor by the wall, cradling her wrist. "Just leave me alone, would you, El? I'm so…tired."

Elazul stood near her, torn. Part of him wanted to drop next to her, hold her, but he _knew_ if he let his guard down here, they would get swarmed again. It hurt to see her like this, but the cynical side of him said it should hurt _more_. The feelings he was so hard pressed to understand in the first place were being slowly suffocated.

"Ren…" He hesitated. Should he even call her that anymore? "Look, it's not the end of the world." He thought about this. "Not _quite_ yet, anyway. There's still time to get the sword back and stop Drakonis. He can't get back up to speed that quickly can he? I mean, why would he build a castle if he didn't need some kind of fortress to protect himself? He must still be vulnerable…"

It was the wrong track, he could tell. She just hunched closer to the wall. "What good would it do? Even if…I got it back…" she gave a thin sigh. "I'd probably just lose it again."

"Aren't you angry?" He tried a different angle. "You seemed pretty determined to rip Drakonis a new one back…er…there."

"Don't care anymore." It should have sounded petulant, but it was too monotone. "Stop it already!" she snapped as he started to speak again. "I know what you're doing. Everything's gone to hell and you want me to fix it, don't you. I caused the problem and now I should fix it. Well I'm not going to. I'd just make it worse. I'm _done_ trying to fix things!"

"What? No, that's not it..." Elazul was genuinely surprised, before the guilty inner voice caught up. _The idea occurred to you didn't it, you selfish bastard. Ren fixes everything. Get her back and it'll all be fine. Is that was I was after?_ "No," he continued out loud again. "It's not like that at all. I just want you to come back." He watched her, trying to will her into listening. "I don't give a damn about Drakonis and his plans. That's Vadise and Sierra's problem. I didn't even know he _existed_ they told me about him. I just wanted to bring you back."

"And do what?" Ren turned her head to rest on her arms, looking off to the side now.

"Just…be there." Elazul shook his head. "If you don't want to take on Drakonis, that's fine. If you want to go somewhere else, leave it for Vadise to deal with, I don't care. I just want you to come back. For me." He hesitated, wondering how much of an idiot he sounded, then decided it hardly mattered. "Look, you're wrong, you know. When you say you haven't fixed anything. You've helped_ me_ out a lot. Maybe that doesn't count for much in your new expanded world view, but it means a lot to, well, me.

"You're just thinking on too grand a scale right now. Drakonis and his immortal viewpoint have blinded you to the smaller things. Forget the _world,_ the _goddess_ for a moment. Think about…about Domina…about Bud, and Lisa, and Rachel, and Pearl. Think about that basket fish and the dancer you told me about. _Think._ Is it all suddenly unimportant because some deranged lizard from a thousand years in the past decided to dredge up a grudge? Bah, and I thought _I_ was supposed to be the pessimistic one!"

Her eyes flickered and he thought she was about to speak, then she seemed to shrug it off. _Ah, screw the Shadoles._ Elazul knelt near her, taking her hands again. She didn't pull away, but she wouldn't look at him either. "I don't think you ever realized, what a difference you made. You didn't remember long enough into the past to _see_ a difference. The day I met you in Domina, if you can call that a meeting, I was at the absolute end of my rope. No, I suspect I left the actual rope behind ages before and was clinging to empty air, wishing I had a rope.

"I was desperate. Not just worried about finding Pearl, but worried about what I would do if I found her, after I found her. It would only happen again, and again, I couldn't handle it anymore. Not by myself, and you…you just showed up, stepped in, and took over. Didn't know a thing about Jumi or curses or who I was, or even who _you _were, but you decided to help anyway. Despite, and this is important, what a complete and utter _ass_ I was being.

"And ever since then, whenever you're not around, I feel empty. Well," Elazul stopped to correct himself, "maybe not all at once like that, it kind of snuck up on me. But after you disappeared into the Underworld it really hit me." He sighed, looking around at the bleak, unyielding walls. "Goddess, I don't know what I'm saying anymore. This is entirely the wrong place for this sort of conversation."

He shook his head. "That crazy moon tower tried to implant some sort of significance in my head, but all it did was confuse me. Vadise and Sierra, _especially_ Vadise, kept trying to get me to see the big cosmic picture or some sort of history lesson, but I couldn't seem to convince them that I didn't _care._ I just wanted…I'm repeating myself now, aren't I?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Are you even listening to me?" Some of the encroaching despair crept into his voice despite his best efforts.

"Yes." For a moment that simple answer seemed all that was forthcoming, then she frowned. "What?" she asked, looking up from whatever portion of floor she'd been contemplating. "Keep going. I don't think I've ever heard you string so many words together. Don't break the record now."

That sounded pretty close to normal, even though Elazul wasn't going to fool himself into thinking it wasn't at least partially an act. He swallowed a mixture of relief and panic and tried to remember what he'd been saying.

"_No_," she hissed suddenly. "I meant _keep_ _talking. _As long as you're speaking," she continued when he looked at her in alarm. "The voices go away."

"Oh." _Why is that?_ he wondered.

"Elazul, _please._"

There's nothing like someone telling you to talk, to make all the topics run away and hide somewhere. "Well," he said, finally. "I suppose I should be happy _someone_ wants to listen to me. The past few days it's been nothing but 'shut up, Elazul' every five minutes."

"Really? From who?" Ren had a careful edge to her voice now, like someone picking their way through sentences, searching for harmless words.

"Vadise and Sierra, mostly. And Viridian. Even Pearl. It's been the nosy females club up there, let me tell you. Well, not Viridian." Elazul rubbed at his eyes with the back of his wrist. "Sorry. I'm not very good at small talk in _normal_ situations."

"I don't care."

"No. You probably don't." Elazul stopped. "Look, I really don't know what to say. My mother said almost the same thing when I ran into her down here, and I didn't have anything to tell her either. I'm just a walking collection of wasted opportunities, really."

"Your mother?"

"Yes. You'd think I would have had something to say to _her_, wouldn't you? After everything…" He trailed off. "What's the point of bringing that up now, anyway? See what I mean?"

Ren sat staring at her hands. "I thought it took nightmares to get you to tell me about your past."

Elazul looked at the glowing red walls and the creeping black floor. "I think this place qualifies as enough of a nightmare for my whole lifetime's worth of stories. If you want them." _And my life, if you want it,_ part of him wanted to say, but he had a feeling it would sound ridiculous out loud. "I just don't think I can tell them _here_."

Ren reached out and caught his hand again, then sat there as if waiting for something. "I might…take you up on that," she said finally. "If we get out of here."

"When," he said firmly.

She looked up at him, surprised. "Yes…of course." Her grip tightened briefly and then she let go. "When."

Elazul nodded, reluctant to look away and get back to the depressing task of wondering how to get out. "You know," he said. "I think this place is broken. _Something_ should have attacked us by now."

"Yes, it probably is. Drakonis is good at breaking things."

"Er…no, what I meant was, if something attacked us, something more solid than Shadoles, preferably, that would mean there's a way _out_ somewhere."

"Oh." Ren looked around at the cell-sized area like she was seeing it for the first time. "Where did this place come from?"

"I guess it just formed around us when the ceiling collapsed."

"No," she frowned. "I mean this whole place. The Underworld."

Elazul blinked. "What do you mean? It's the Underworld. It's just there."

"It didn't exist before. The souls of the dead…they flew to the tree and then, well I don't know. Returned to the earth, or continued to the stars. Or perhaps were reborn. No one knew. Where did _this_," there was disgust in her voice, "come from, and why?"

"This isn't really time for a philosophy discussion," Elazul said.

"It's not philosophy when we're standing in it, is it?" Ren countered.

"I suppose not, but it might as well be, for all I know about it. Would knowing where it came from help us get out?"

Ren looked back at the floor. "I suppose not." She seemed drained again. _No, that's not good. Have to keep her talking._ "Ren…" A thought occurred to him. "Does it bother you?"

"What?" She looked up again.

"Calling you Ren. After what you said before."

She stared at him for a minute. "What do you think?"

Elazul shrugged. "It's your name now. Unless you want Kesta back, which frankly I don't like as much, is not nearly so fitting, and has two syllables, which means you'd probably forget it."

"I would not!"

"Why not? You did once already."

"El, you're horrible." Ren still didn't smile, but her voice was lighter.

"Of course." He pondered the walls again. The only solution he could think of was trying to summon a Shadole again and try to bully it into taking them out. That hadn't worked terribly well the first time. "I wonder if-"

"Ah. I knew there was another pocket around here somewhere."

The voice, definitely not Ren's, caused Elazul to make a hasty grab for his sword. The wall across from them wavered and then dissolved as Olbohn stepped through, ducking his head to clear the entrance. "Put it away, unless you mean it as a challenge," he said without really looking. Elazul thought for a second, then sheathed the sword. The keeper of the Underworld seemed unarmed, but now probably wasn't the time to push his luck with someone who was reported to have been the greatest swordsman of an age.

"This place is a mess," Olbohn went on, to himself by the sound of it, running a hand along one wall. "All these parts are supposed to connect, but Drakonis ripped a big hole out of the middle and it will take me ages to fit it together again. Especially since the Shadoles are having a field day with it all." He turned to go, stepping back through the hole.

"Hey wait!" Elazul darted forward. "Can you help us?"

Olbohn paused. He looked at the doorway he had made, then at Elazul.

"Well yes, that's helpful but, I mean…" _Pull yourself together!_ he hissed at himself, mentally. "Maybe a _little_ further than the other side of the wall?"

"You came down here of your own free will, Jumi. Surely you don't think I should hold your hand and guide you back out?" Olbohn seemed irritated, the calm he had displayed before fractured. Obviously, things were not going smoothly. "I have things to do."

"Wait!" Olbohn waited. "That is…will you at least answer a question?"

"Ask."

"Where is Sierra?"

Olbohn considered for a moment, then waved at the exit. "Ahead of you."

"Is that a direction?"

"In this realm, it is." The Wisdom ducked through the door again and was gone by the time Elazul looked out after him.

"Wisdom, my ass," he muttered, stalking back to Ren. "He could have just admitted he didn't know. Come on, let's get out of here." He held out a hand and pulled her up when she took it.

"Yes." She took a few steps through the door and would have fallen again if Elazul hadn't still been holding on to her.

He eased her to the floor and peered at her, concerned. Her eyes were closed. _This isn't going to work,_ he thought, then shook his head. _ No. You knew this sort of thing would happen. Viridian told you, in his roundabout dragon way. Vadise too. The spirits warned you. You'll just have to be strong enough for two. _Elazul looked at the walls around them. Even the stone seemed dead.

_No no no. Optimism, Elazul, optimism…_"Hey." He nudged Ren. "Hey, wake up. Again. Come on, you're going to have to stay conscious for more than a couple minutes if we're going to get anything done."

Ren opened her eyes, then squeezed them shut again briefly. "Elazul…you think you're so damn funny don't you."

"Oh yes. I spend all my time thinking of ways to make people laugh. Really, it's my sole occupation. When I'm not wandering around dark, monster-infested hallways after the memory-challenged girl of the moment that is. Oh wait."

She opened her eyes the rest of the way. "Are you panicking?"

"No." Elazul scanned the hallway ahead of them. It went on and on with perfect visibility until it finally slanted upwards and out of sight.

"Really? Because you always say stupid things when you panic."

"No. I passed panic a long time ago. I'm not sure what I'm at now. Something all the way out the other side of panic." He shook his head. "We need to get out of here. It's this place, it's the Underworld. It eats emotion, stifles everything. If I…if we don't start moving we might not care enough to leave anymore. I'll carry you if I have to," he warned when Ren sighed.

"I can walk," she snapped. Elazul was doubtful about this statement, but he let her get up anyway.

"Then, we should find Olbohn again. He ran off a little too quickly for my tastes, and I'd bet anything he's our best bet of getting out of here." Elazul set as fast a pace as he dared up the hall, and a slightly slower run of mindless conversation to keep Ren from thinking too hard.

They made it a long way, as far as it was possible to tell, before the first attack. It came from the left, a single rotting figure stumbling out of a shallow cave they had almost passed. It crossed in front of them, then turned and hissed as if startled, before Elazul's sword cut it down. He paused, waiting, but nothing else showed up. They'd only just started forward again when two more monsters came sprinting down the hallway towards them, nearly passing their target before sliding to a halt and attacking.

After that, the undead came thick and fast, but without purpose or much coordination. They tripped and collided with each other, stopped aimlessly in mid-attack, and generally provided more nuisance than threat.

"It's turned into a comedy show," Elazul muttered when the onslaught had died down.

"I'm not laughing." Ren was close behind him, one hand on his cloak. "I wish I had a weapon."

"What would you do with it? You're having trouble _walking._" Elazul sighed. "Okay, don't look at me like that. I might have a knife on me." He reached for the short clip behind his back and unsheathed about six inches of blade. "It's more a kitchen tool than anything, though," he warned. "Can you really use that?"

"Does it have an edge?" Ren asked, taking the knife.

"More or less."

"Then it's fine." She weighed it thoughtfully in one hand, then turned and in one movement, threw it at a dark patch on the wall. The red stone convulsed briefly, and Olbohn stepped out of it, holding the knife between two fingers.

"Well done," he murmured.

"How…I didn't sense him at all!" Elazul exclaimed.

"You were busy fighting. I had nothing to do but…listen." Ren stepped forward before he could think of stopping her. "Why are you following us?"

Olbohn was apparently inspecting the knife. "I wanted to see the effect you have on the realm. Things have not been normal, since _you_ passed the threshold. I sensed something strange about you the second you arrived in my office, but only now do I see the disruption you trailed in your wake."

Elazul started to step between Ren and what sounded like ominous words from the Wisdom, but she seemed strangely calm. "And? Am I still…disrupting things?"

"Not so much." Olbohn tapped the knife thoughtfully against the side of his mask. "The realm is healing. The wounds Drakonis left are great, but they will mend."

"The sword…" Ren paused, as if forcing herself to go on. "Did not like this place, but it's gone now. Drakonis has…used it."

Olbohn was caught unaware by this. "What sword?"

"The only one worth mentioning." Ren smiled, false and bright, and changed the subject. "If you knew I would be a…disruption…why didn't you stop me?" She ground out the words with anger barely contained.

Several sets of shoulders shrugged. "I stop no one from entering who wishes it. I knew Drakonis was plotting for his freedom, and that he would eventually succeed. One does not keep dragons from their goals for long. I decided I might as well let him get on with it. However," his eyes flared, "I did not expect him to bring the whole Underworld down in his exit!"

"He chose the perfect tool." Ren's smile faded as quickly as it had sprung, and she spun away from the Wisdom. "Elazul," she said urgently, gripping his arm. "I want to leave. I hate this place."

The tone of her voice, pleading and faintly panicked, reminded him strongly of Pearl. _She's losing her mind,_ he thought. _The calm before the storm._ He looked over her head towards Olbohn. "Well? You heard her. Are you going to show us they way out now, or do you have any more _games _you'd like to play?"

"I do not play _games_," Olbohn hissed. "As I said before, I do not have time to baby-sit you."

"Yet you have time to follow us around and watch us wade through several dozen of your minions, do you?"

"It was research. I needed to know that the source of the disruption was gone. Now that I have that knowledge, I can turn my full attention to restoring normality."

"Surely having us wandering around wreaking havoc won't help things get back to normal, will it?" Elazul countered.

"And you intend to make things difficult, I assume?"

"As much as necessary."

Olbohn glared at him, eyes glowing faintly behind the mask, then let his gaze pass over to Ren. For a while he just stood there, perhaps thinking. "Well. Perhaps I can speed things up a bit." Raising all his arms, he brought them down with a circular slicing motion, and the scenery changed.

It was something like stepping through the entrance portal, backwards. A sensation of movement without wind, and then they were standing in a slightly wider space. Before them hung a glowing circle, and beyond that, trees and the stars above them.

It was like the sight of water in the desert. Already the air felt lighter and easier to breathe. Hope seeped in through cracks dammed up by the dust of the Underworld, and Elazul took a step forward.

Olbohn was there, suddenly, between them and the portal. "Hold," he said, raising one hand. "I said I would speed things up, not circumvent them entirely. There must be some sort of test, and since you seem to be in a hurry, we shall chose the simplest one." He waved the hand through the air and a long, heavy blade appeared, shrouded in flame. "Combat."

"Tradition?" Elazul asked, pondering the reach of that sword. "Who really gives a damn about tradition when the whole place is falling apart?"

"The Underworld cares," Olbohn said without rancor. "It may be disrupted, but it cannot be destroyed. I guard the gates of the Underworld, and none pass who are unqualified."

"Drakonis just left!" Elazul exclaimed, waving back in the general direction of the lower levels. "I fail to see what makes him 'qualified'!"

"He did not pass through the gates. I can make no judgment."

"I thought you said before that 'judgment' was not your call, but in peoples' hearts?"

"I am surprised you were listening."

"You know what…" Elazul started forward, but suddenly Ren's touch left his side and she stepped in front of him.

"So…you are our only barrier to outside?" she asked, in a surprisingly level voice.

"Technically," Olbohn shifted his stance and gripped the sword with two hands to level at her. "Only yours. You are the only one who drank the baptismal flame, only you are bound by traditional means. I did not think it mattered overly much, however." He glanced between her and Elazul.

Ren tilted her head slightly, then glanced over her shoulder. "El, planning on leaving without me?"

"You really have to ask?"

"Then give me your sword."

"What?" Elazul stared at her. "Wait, _you're_ not planning on fighting him?"

"You really have to ask?" Ren held out her hand. Elazul stared stubbornly back at her for a minute, then sighed. Drawing his sword, he offered it to her, hilt first.

"He supposed to be an expert swordsman, you know."

"Perfect." Ren swiped the sword through the air a few times.

"There's got to be a better way to do this," Elazul said, watching her.

"If I can't take out spider-onion here, I'll never be able to knock Drakonis out of the sky," Ren said reasonably. She paused, regarding the sword, then looked back over her shoulder. "Hey, how do you make it do that light-up thing?"

"Light-up thi…" Elazul covered his face with one hand. "I don't know. Just concentrate and hope for the best?"

"Hmm." She held the sword out at arm's length and squinted at it. "It's not working," she said. "And here I thought I was the optimistic one."

"Look, I don't know how it works. It just does. Sometimes."

"Spider-onion?" Olbohn had obviously stopped paying attention sometime previous. "_Spider-onion?_"

"Oh," Ren turned back to him. "I didn't think you were listening. Sorry. Shall we?" She raised Elazul's sword and pointed it at the Wisdom.

"You really intend to fight your way through me? In your condition?"

Ren ignored this. "Answer me a question first. Why can't the Underworld be destroyed?"

Olbohn lowered his sword fractionally. "Because it is needed."

"For what?"

"To give souls somewhere to go."

"Then it came into being after the…" she hesitated. "The death of the mana tree."

"It was created, yes."

"Did you create it?"

"No."

"But you're in charge?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because the one who was here before was…" Olbohn stopped. "Why are you asking these questions?" For the first time, he seemed genuinely confused. Probably, Elazul thought, he was wondering why he was answering them so easily. Ren had that effect on people, as he well knew.

"Because," Ren had lowered her weapon now. "I don't like this place. I don't think it should exist. But, as you say, _something_ needs to be here. That's the reason you're here isn't it? You didn't make this, and I don't suspect you like it, but you make sure it keeps going because it's _necessary._"

Olbohn was silent for a while. "In a word, yes," he said eventually. "I fail to see what this has to do with anything else, however. Do you intend to fight me or not?"

"She doesn't need to!" Elazul exclaimed, rattling puzzle pieces into place as fast as he could process them. "She's not part of your soul cycle, she comes from the age _before_ this was needed, when the great tree still bound the world together. This stupid dimension has no _right_ to keep her here."

"From the tree?" Olbohn watched Ren intently. "Is this true?"

"Er…" Ren looked back from staring at Elazul in mild confusion. "I suppose so. I mean, yes. It's a bit hazy still, but…yes."

"Who are you?"

The simple question seemed to shake her, and she started to back away, then stopped. "I was called the Mana Knight," she said quietly.

"Then the sword you spoke of…?"

"Yes."

"These days, perhaps only the historians of Gato or the mages of Geo would recognize that title, but I remember. Though it was a legend even in my time." The wisdom frowned, but thoughtfully. "It is times like these that I wish Anuella was still here to guide us."

"Who?" Ren peered at him.

"Never mind. It is no good looking to the dead for guidance. I should know." He sighed. "Drakonis, then, has the sword of mana. You brought it to him."

"He took it from me."

Olbohn nodded. "Then you intend to get it back?" Ren was silent. "To use it to restore the Tree?"

"I…"

"Don't let him pressure you," Elazul hissed, coming up next to her. She glanced at him, smiled slightly, and raised her head.

"I intend to _try._"

Olbohn locked his gaze with hers. "I hope you know what you are doing. A wrong move at this point could only leave the world in a worse state than it already is."

"I know." Ren's voice was barely audible, but she didn't look away.

Olbohn let his arm fall, and the sword vanished. "The Wisdoms will aid you, it is what Anuella would wish, I believe."

"Where can I find them, then?"

"You will find them if you look for them."

"Yes, and if they all talk like you, they'll be precious little help," Elazul interjected.

Olbohn only shook his head. Then he stepped aside, without ceremony or flourish. "Go, and send Drakonis' soul back to me when you are done."

"I might. Then again…I might not." Ren bowed slightly, and handed Elazul's sword back to him as she started for the portal.

"Hey," Elazul turned to Olbohn as he sheathed the sword. "Can I have my knife back?"

The wisdom flicked one hand and a small shape smacked into Elazul's palm. He started to say something else, but Ren grabbed his hand and pulled him forward before he could form the first word. "Don't push our luck," she hissed.

"Maybe I was going to say thank you?"

Ren just sighed and they practically ran through the portal. Unlike the entrance in the cemetery, the exit resisted them. Like swimming up from the deepest ocean, it tried to drown them, deeper and darker until with a sudden flash, it dropped them on dry land. Elazul drew in breath after breath of air, real air, feeling it fill his lungs, seep into his blood, dispelling the last of the Underworld taint.

A little ahead of him, Ren knelt among dead leaves fallen from the tall trees all around them. One hand pressed to her heart, she was staring up through the branches to the moons above. For a while they just sat there, in the relative silence of the woods at night.

_Where are we? How much time has passed?_ Elazul thought the questions, then discarded them. If it mattered, they'd find out soon enough. "Do you feel any better now?"

"Oh." Ren seemed to think about it for a while. "I think so…yes. I can breathe better anyway. Who would have thought _air_ could be so different?" She let her hands fall into her lap. "My mind is clearing, too."

Elazul stood up, made sure nothing adverse was going to happen because of it, then walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Is that a good thing?"

"I'm not sure. I suppose so." She looked up at him, then back at the leaves. "I can hear the spirits again. They're not making any sense right now, but…they're there. I'll talk to them later. Right now I…I have to stop Drakonis."

"I thought you just said that to get pumpkinhead to let us go," Elazul said, only partially believing it.

"At first, but…" Ren shook her head. "It kind of just sunk in. Now. I know I said before…that it was all my fault, and it still is," she continued quickly before he could interrupt. "But it's also my responsibility." She sighed. "I'm too confused to hash it out right now. Just….trust me."

Elazul found that he'd been hoping she _wouldn't_ want to go after Drakonis, that they could just…disappear. Go somewhere else and hope it would end well. That was ridiculous, and he shoved the thought away, into the void. "I understand."

Ren sort of smiled. "You knew as soon as you got me out of that horrible depressing environment, I'd get back to business, didn't you."

"I was serious." Elazul sighed. "When I said you didn't have to. I know you have a hard time believing it, but I am capable of being serious. Once in a while."

"I suppose so." Pulling on his arm, she dragged herself to her feet with obvious reluctance.

"So what do we do first?" _Sleep, I hope._ With the return of normal air came other things, like hunger and a sense of time catching up. Elazul could feel a thousand little aches and pains and tired muscles screaming to be noticed.

"I have to find Viridian." She hesitated. "He is…alright, isn't he?"

"Last I saw of him." Elazul looked at the area around them. This didn't look like the Domina area. In fact, he'd swear they were closer to the White Forest again, by the type and obvious age of the trees. "He was heading back to Domina with Pearl and the twins in tow. Something about fixing that sword of yours. The other one, I mean."

"I'll probably need that." Ren nodded to herself.

"Is it a good idea, though?"

"What? What better way to fight a dragon than with another dragon?" Ren started walking in an apparently random direction.

_She's going to run at this half-prepared and half-healed and get herself killed. Permanently this time. _ The rush of dread Elazul felt easily overrode all sense of tact. "Ren, need I remind you that last time you took on Drakonis, you had a fully grown and mature dragon with you, not to mention the mana sword with the power of the goddess backing it, and _you still lost._"

"Why thank you, El! You really know how to boost my confidence!" She stopped and turned around. "Now, let me point out that Drakonis at that time was not only at full strength himself, but had Anise's power behind him in the form of the eye of flame. Right now, he's living on mana borrowed from the other dragons, and I'm certain he can't have integrated it fully into his own system yet. Plus, he had to use a considerable chunk of that power to fuel that crazy flying castle thing, not to mention whatever he wasted trying to get Larc to waste _us_, back in the Underworld. So, all things considered, it probably evens out."

"Probably." Elazul wasn't convinced. "If you had time to work all _that_ out, you at least have time to stop and rest a minute before charging off. You should at least talk to Vadise. I think we're near-"

"No!" Ren exclaimed, breathing fast again, as if overtaken by a sudden panic. "Vadise…I can't talk to Vadise."

"Why not? She's been waiting a thousand years to-"

"That's _why!_ She knows…knew me, who I was…I can't face her. She'll remember, and expect me to be…." She trailed off, frowning. "Remembering, knowing…Elazul!"

He blinked, startled. "What?"

"How…how do you know about that battle? Viridian, and Drakonis, and Anise. That's not all, you've been talking the whole time about the tree and the sword. Even _Vadise_ couldn't know half of that stuff!"

_ Oh…damn, I'd forgotten. Maybe Drakonis told me. Maybe Vadise did. Maybe _you_ told me and don't remember…no._ Elazul sighed. _Why do I keep doing that? You can't build a relationship on lies. I should have learned that from Pearl._

"I've known, bits and pieces for…a while."

Ren blinked and stepped back. "A while? How long?"

"Since before you went to the Underworld."

Her eyes narrowed. "How _long?_"

"Since the tower at Gato. When Pearl broke the mirror and you fell." He left it at that, pretty sure he wasn't going to get a chance to explain better.

Oh by all that was holy, she looked _angry._ "You…you lying, manipulative…how dare you! This is just the same, the same as with Pearl…and here I thought we had something different! And you're…hiding things, keeping secrets…" The words came in short gasps, as if it hurt her to talk, but she forced them out anyway. "Now…see what happened! All this…I could have stopped it, if I had known, if I…"she broke off again and spun away, starting off into the darkening woods.

Elazul wanted to say something in his defense, but he couldn't, in all conscience, pretend he didn't deserve that. He settled for simply following her.

"Go away! Get away from me!" she snapped without looking back.

Okay, that _hurt, _but he couldn't get angry, not now. "No," he said evenly. "I didn't follow you to the depths of the Underworld and back so you could trip over a tree root in the _dark_ and break your neck!"

"Why? Why did you follow me?" Ren flung a hand to one side. "If you couldn't be bothered to _tell_ me-"

"I didn't want you to have to deal with it!" He interrupted finally. "It was all _nasty _stuff. Fire and destruction. I didn't want it to hurt you!"

Ren looked back, a rather nasty smile on her face. "Really. You succeeded _so_ well there."

Goddess, the girl could hit like Blackpearl's hammer when she wanted to. "Please, _listen _to me. I was wrong, I realize that, but…" he hesitated, then plowed on quickly before she could run again. "Look, it wasn't like…I mean, it wasn't _obvious._ I didn't start to get a clear picture of things until I got near Vadise's glade, near the mana crystal. Before that it was just fractured, random pictures, all mixed up. Ren, you have to believe me, if I had been able to make sense of it, if I had _known…_" His words sounded hollow, but he didn't dare stop talking. At least she was standing still now.

"If I had known about Drakonis, if I had been, I don't know, smart enough to figure out what was going on, I would never have let you walk away. I wouldn't have let you touch that damn sword, I…" He shook his head. "Or so I keep telling myself, but really, a minute hasn't gone by that I haven't wondered if I could have prevented this, haven't blamed myself for not stopping you."

Elazul looked at the leaves on the ground, counting what strands of pride he had left after the past few days. It didn't tally up to much. "Can you forgive me?" he asked quietly.

Ren stood staring at her own patch of leaves for something like an eternity. Then she walked back towards him, slowly, as if unsure of each step. She reached out, touched his arm. "How could I not?" she whispered. "When I've done so much that needs forgiving?"

He tugged on her arm as if to get her attention, and met little resistance. She took a step forward and then sort half fell against him, as if unable or unwilling to support her own weight any longer. He stumbled back, found a tree to support both their weights and wrapped his arms around her, relief flowing through him. "I'm sorry," he said to the darkness. "I really…" He could feel her shaking, a bone-deep tremor combined more of weariness and despair than actual fear. "Ren," he said, reaching up to stroke her hair, the relief rushing away as quickly as it had come. "Don't cry."

She leaned back a little, glanced up and away, not quite meeting his eyes. "I won't," she said hesitantly, then more firmly. "I can't. I can't cry for myself after what I've done. There are so many others to cry for, and since that won't help them any…I won't cry, ever again. My tears all burned up in that horrible place." She looked like she was trying to smile. "Gives us something in common?"

"You don't want that in common," Elazul sighed. "This is one of those times when I wish I could."

"Cry?"

"I suppose."

"You suppose?" Ren craned her neck at him again.

"I don't know. I've never even felt the need, the urge. Not even as a child."

She looked down again, leaning against him. "Is that why you're so calm all the time?"

"Me? Calm?" Disbelief kept him from doing anything more than repeat the words back at her.

"Yes. Even with me going off like a banshee back there, you just…you're so calm, I can't believe it."

Elazul managed a low laugh. "I'm not calm. I'm _exhausted._ I have no energy to be anything. I think I slept…what, a couple hours, maybe, in Vadise's glade, and I was possibly unconscious for a few minutes down in the Underworld after Drakonis dropped the ceiling on us, and I think it was you who said that doesn't count…" He stopped, realizing how long that sentence was getting and how little sense it made. "I'm tired," he summarized.

"Oh." Ren said nothing else for a long time. "Something else we have in common, then."

Elazul let himself slide down the trunk of the tree, her with him. "Then sleep."

"I don't think I can," she said. "Drakonis-"

"-can wait," he finished for her, pulling her closer beside him. "The whole damn world can wait."

"Yes, I suppose it can."

A hunting bird flew by overhead, and the rustling of small animals that populated the night woods briefly ceased. When the silent shape had passed, Elazul looked down again. Ren's eyes reflected the moonlight, still open, staring up at the sky. He followed her gaze to the bright orb of the blue-green moon directly overhead.

"Do you remember," Elazul asked hesitantly. "Watching clouds? On your front lawn?"

"Of course," Ren mumbled. "It wasn't that long ago."

"Seems like forever." He sighed. "If I could go back…I feel like I missed a chance there, for so many things…"

"Shhh," Ren waved a hand at him. "Leave it alone. Look, there are clouds here too. There's one passing in front of Jinn's moon now. Go ahead and say what you wanted to say then."

Elazul watched the cloud. It didn't look like anything, just a few wisps of vapor trying to block the moon's light with minimal success. So much for inspiration. "Ren?

"Mm?"

"I love you."

"Mm hmm."

Elazul glanced down. "Mm hmm? That's it?"

Ren opened her eyes and stifled a yawn. "El, you came tearing across half this world and most of the next after me. I don't really need a couple of words as proof." She looked up at him for a moment, then nudged closer and rested her head against his chest again.

Elazul closed his own eyes and leaned back against the tree, trying to calm the nervous singing of his core and figure out what had just gone wrong. Or right. Or both. He gave up and looked at Ren again, started to speak, then stopped.

She was asleep. That was good. No matter how many horrible things happened, there always came a time when body and mind simply shut down and got some rest. When you woke up, well, things always look a little brighter in the mornings, no matter what.

He reached down and brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes, carefully, and nearly smiled. He'd always wanted to do that. Provided no one was looking, of course. "It's not going to be easy," he said quietly, though he was pretty certain it took a full scale thunderstorm directly overhead to wake Ren. "But I'll try…" he shook his head at himself. "I'll be here for you. I won't run away this time."


End file.
